Sol Purpose
by Adrian Tyndall
Summary: After the defeat of Galaxia, the Senshi attempt to find peace.  Hotaru has been accelerated to the age of 16, and is enrolled in a public school.  But when she meets a strange boy, things start to get interesting again. Volume 1 of the Sol Legacy.
1. Prologue

[Prologue]

**-November 2001-**

Hotaru awoke, with no memory of what had happened over the last two days. All she remembered was passing out in class, and then waking up just now. She was in her room, in comfortable surroundings, with the violet curtains and wallpaper, and her myriad of lamps from over the years. Something was not right, though.

Hotaru took a deep breath. She let it out slowly, doing so without a coughing fit. That was strange to her, unknown. She had _always_ coughed when she took a deep breath. Hotaru sat up and reached for her hairbrush. She got her hand on it, but then stopped.

There was another girl in the room with her, sitting in a chair and reading a magazine. She had long, blond hair and shining blue eyes. Now what was her name? No matter how she tried, Hotaru could not remember the other girl's name, though she knew she was familiar.

The girl looked up and saw her, then hurried to the door. She opened it, then called out into the hall, "Haruka, Michiru! Come quick! Hotaru's awake!"

Two others walked into the room. One was an older boy, the other a girl. Hotaru thought about them, then remembered. They were her parents. Adopted parents, and no, they were both girls. The shorter of the two had long, teal shaded hair, the older had short, blond hair. Now if Hotaru could only remember their names...

The girl who'd been sitting with her before left. The other blond leaned down. "Good morning," she said. "Feeling better after two days' sleep?"

Hotaru looked up at her, confused. "Better from what?" she asked. She remembered her brush in her hand, and started brushing her raven-colored hair. Had she missed something? Had something happened to her she was supposed to know about?

The blond drew back. "Michiru, I think we need to go get either Luna or Artemis," she said. Michiru promptly left the room. Minutes later, she returned, carrying a black cat. The cat, which had a crescent-shaped bald spot on its forehead, was set down.

Hotaru looked at the cat carefully. If not for the gravity of her memory loss, Hotaru would have thought this quite funny. Suddenly, and quite surprisingly, the cat spoke. "Hotaru, I am Luna. I need to ask you something, something important. What can you remember?"

Hotaru thought hard, but then shook her head. "Nothing," she said helplessly. The cat walked across the bed until she stood beside the black-haired girl.

"Soon," Luna said mysteriously. "You will remember everything, Sailor Saturn."

* * *

The young boy stood outside, dressed in the shrine's traditional blue training tunic and pants, with red wristbands and belt. He had a broom in his hand and a pleased expression on his face. He didn't mind the work, he'd been doing it for over a decade. He endured more than many other boys his age, a truly abnormal amount.

Of course, his master was far from normal himself. His green skin, predominately covered by the white cloak and turban he wore, plus the blue tunic and pants underneath, set him apart from anything of this world. His pointed ears and antennae, that latter of which was covered by the turban, gave him the appearance of alien, devil, or both.

The boy ran a hand through his unruly black hair, then continued to sweep the outside, ridding it of the brown and orange leaves that accompanied the cool autumn air, and that threatened to bury the place if someone wasn't careful. He had lived and trained at the Kirikado Shrine for fifteen years, or so he was told. In that time, he had accomplished more feats than any ordinary human could.

"Kyou!" the boy's master called. Kyou sighed. Master Piccolo had always had a way of making his voice carry farther than it should. Kyou turned and walked inside, standing the broom against the wall.

"You called for me, Piccolo-sensei?" Kyou asked as he entered. His master stood in the middle of the floor, eyes closed and silent.

Kyou was a bit confused. Piccolo slowly opened his eyes. "Come in, Kyou," he said. "I must speak with you."

Now Kyou was even more confused. He took five more steps into the room. Piccolo remained standing, so Kyou followed suit. Kyou had no idea what was soon to follow, but he would be prepared.

It was truly good he was prepared, too. His years of training allowed him to see his master's faster-than-lightning launch. Kyou dodged to the left to avoid his master's attack. Piccolo touched the ground once, lightly, and was rebounding to Kyou's position-

Except for the fact that Kyou wasn't there. He had already moved as well, coming back along Piccolo's course to hit the spot his master had just left. Kyou then went on the offensive, aiming a hand for Piccolo's neck. Piccolo ducked in time, bringing his fist up and into Kyou's stomach.

Kyou recovered quickly and had soon tripped Piccolo up. In the instant that Piccolo was airborne, Kyou jumped into the air above his master and elbowed him back into the ground. Piccolo jumped back to his feet and attempted to lunge at Kyou, who was already jumping into the air. Kyou stood on Piccolo's turban for a second, until his master moved out from under him, grabbing Kyou's leg in the process.

Kyou was slammed toward the ground, and would have made impact were it not for his hand shooting out reflexively to catch him. He twisted around to see his opponent's face, forcing Piccolo to release his leg. Kyou used his hand to propel him from the ground, flying cleanly over Piccolo and landing on his knees behind his master. His hand shot backward into the back of Piccolo's knee, and the master dropped to the ground.

Before Piccolo's next attack came, Kyou shot forward and landed in a crouch facing his master. But Piccolo wasn't moving. Piccolo turned around and looked at his student, smiling.

"I see. I was correct in my assessment," Piccolo said.

"Assessment? You mean this was some kind of a test?" Kyou asked.

"Yes," Piccolo replied. "Kyou, how long have you been here at the Kirikado Shrine?"

Kyou thought about it. "About fifteen years, master. You know that."

"So I do, so I do," Piccolo said. "Fifteen years. In those years, you have grown in strength and spirit. You have accomplished more than any boy in his wildest dreams could even hope to accomplish. However, I have nothing left to teach you. Therefore, I am going to release you into Tokyo. I've made arrangements for you to attend a public high school next year, entering at the junior rank. You will also live alone."

"I thank you, Piccolo-sensei," Kyou said, bowing.

"Do not thank me. You must let life be your sensei now. Go out into the world. Use your abilities for the good of mankind. Spread your knowledge to those who seek it," Piccolo said. "But while you're doing that, do me a favor."

"Anything, Piccolo-sensei," Kyou replied instantly.

"In your solo training, please come around and sweep. These leaves make me so terribly irritable."


	2. Chapter 1

[Chapter 1]

**-August 2002-**

It was a warm, bright morning. Unfortunately, behind thick, near-solid violet curtains, no one could see a thing. Hotaru Tomoe woke up to this pseudo-darkness every morning. Today, though, everything would change. Hotaru began this by throwing open the curtains to see the warmth and brightness outside.

It was Hotaru's first day back at school. This year she was a junior, with just one more year until graduation, until freedom. She dressed quickly and left the house, telling her parents goodbye. Haruka and Michiru, although both female, had adopted her years ago. Her real father, a scientist named Souichi Tomoe, had been placed in a hospital and allowed her to be adopted.

Hotaru walked to school. She'd done so every day since the November before. Normally, she'd meet up with a friend or two, but no one lived nearby anymore. She sighed, walking the morning street alone.

* * *

Kyou Sudoba was out and about this morning as well, walking at a decent pace to get to school on time. This was his first day in a public school, and he wanted to do things right. Along the way, he looked around at his new surroundings. Suddenly, something caught his eye.

A young girl with raven-colored hair strolled up the opposite side of the street alone. She was upset about something, but what he could not tell.

He put his mind back on his walk, trying not to worry about anything. In minutes, he reached the school. He spent a few minutes in the principal's office, then made his way to class.

Kyou entered the room and randomly picked a seat. He paid no attention to the others in the room. After a few minutes, the teacher walked in. The teacher tried to gain the attention of the class.

"Students, please," the teacher said. "Welcome back to the first day of your junior year. We have a new student joining us this year. Please come forward." Kyou rose from his seat and walked to the front of the room.

"Class," the older man said, "This is Kyou Sudoba. He has just recently moved into town. Tell us a bit about yourself."

Kyou glanced around the room, at his empty seat, and the one beside it. Sitting there was the girl he'd seen earlier. He had to make sure, though... Yes, same hair, same skirt and sweater.

"I just came here from the Kirikado Shrine. I've lived and trained there for the last fifteen years," Kyou said slowly.

"Why did you leave?" one of the guys in the back asked.

Kyou grinned sheepishly. "My master said he had nothing left he could teach me."

"Anyway," the teacher interrupted. "Why don't you take your seat and we'll get started."

Kyou did as he was told. He sat back down and noticing the girl glancing at him. He started searching the room, getting a better feel for people by checking their auras.

What really puzzled Kyou was _her_ aura. It was very different from everyone else's. It was a lot stronger than other human powers, but human nonetheless. There was some unique ability there. Kyou shrugged. He'd find out later.

Classes dragged on through the day until lunch. At lunch, Kyou noticed several things. First, many people refused to stay in one spot. Second, no one seemed interested in the nerds except the nerds themselves. Third, absolutely no one was within twenty feet of the girl who sat beside him in class.

Kyou decided to delve into this third issue a little more. He passed up several offers to have lunch with other people in his class. Instead, he moved toward the black-haired girl. She did not notice. In a short time, he reached her table.

"Mind if I join you?" Kyou asked politely. The girl jumped, totally unaware anyone was near. She didn't appear to think too highly of him, especially now.

"What is it? Come to make fun of me? Want me to talk about my gift so you can call me a freak and laugh at me?" she asked. She fixed a cold, purple stare on Kyou.

Kyou remained standing, unfazed, however. "Making fun of people isn't something I do. However, I did want to talk to you about your powers," he replied.

The girl's gaze softened a bit. "Sit down," she said. Kyou did as he was told, not wishing to anger her any further. "I'm sorry. I never look forward to coming to school anymore, because people make fun of me. A lot."

"How come?" Kyou wondered.

"I have this special gift. If a person is injured, I can touch them and heal it. People have seen it and they think I'm weird for it. They think I'm a freak," she answered.

"I'm terribly sorry. Your power can help a lot of people. I don't see why anyone could possibly be afraid of it," Kyou said. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Kyou, Kyou Sudoba."

"My name is Hotaru Tomoe. I'm glad I could talk to you, Kyou. All of my friends have a different lunch, so now I am alone," Hotaru replied.

Kyou and Hotaru talked for a while and discovered they had much in common. Both of them were orphans, although Hotaru had been adopted by two of her adult-aged friends. They also lived relatively close to each other. Neither of them believed in hurting anyone else's feelings, because both of them were kindhearted individuals.

Lunch ended, and Kyou and Hotaru headed back to their classroom. Other students instantly began giving Kyou odd looks. They could not see why on earth the new kid wanted to turn the freak into his first friend.

Kyou merely grinned. These people could look all they wanted. They would soon have to learn that people could be different. It was how things were.

The final bell rang, and Kyou walked over to where Hotaru was gathering her things. "Do you need an escort home?" he asked.

Hotaru looked up at him and blushed. Then she said, "I've never had anyone ask me that before. Would you really want to?"

"Would I have asked if I didn't? I really don't mind. I don't have a curfew, remember?" Kyou replied. Hotaru giggled a little, and they both left.

Along the way, Kyou and Hotaru talked some more about their past. Kyou stopped, and Hotaru gave him a concerned look. Kyou closed his eyes, and stretched out with his mind. He felt a dark aura close by, and barely got Hotaru out of the way.

A black beam had shot out of a tree and into the earth at the spot where Hotaru had stood a second before...


	3. Chapter 2

[Chapter 2]

Hotaru got back to her feet and Kyou snapped into a fighting stance. Something dropped from the tree and landed in front of them. It did not appear human, so there was truly no doubt in Hotaru's mind what it was: a youma.

Kyou stepped forward to challenge the youma. Hotaru frowned. Youma were tricky business. She didn't know whether she'd be able to fight it alone.

Hotaru glanced at Kyou, and Kyou's eyes crept over his shoulder at her.

"Get away!" they both yelled at each other. "I'll try to hold it off." Neither one of them moved.

"Kyou, you have to leave now! This thing's dangerous!" Hotaru shouted.

"Hotaru, get out of here! I can fight this thing off long enough for you to go for help!" Kyou yelled back.

The youma struck, aiming for Hotaru. Kyou intercepted it and stopped it with a powerful kick to its head. The kick lifted the youma clean off the ground, and the youma stayed airborne for a solid two seconds. The youma got back to its feet after a short while.

Hotaru looked over at Kyou. "You can really fight this thing?" she asked, surprise.

Kyou nodded. "And if you hated that, you'll really hate this," he answered. He shifted his weight to his right leg, which was, from the youma's point of view, in back. Then he put his hands behind him, right over left, the heels of his palms touching.

A blue light began shining in his hands. Hotaru watched in amazement, as did the youma. Then she listened, letting sight and sound complement each other, like Haruka and Michiru's duets, as Kyou made his attack.

"Kaaaa... Meee... Haaaa... Meee...," Kyou started. The light in his hands grew brighter and brighter. Finally, Kyou's weight went back to his left leg as he brought his hands around, shouting, "HAAAA!"

Suddenly, the light shot out at the youma, a deadly energy beam. The beam hit, driving itself into the youma. Unable to contain the tremendous amount of energy within the blast, the youma finally exploded.

Hotaru dropped to her knees, the tension wearing her out. Kyou stood a few yards away, not so much as breaking a sweat. Hotaru looked up at him in astonishment.

"Hotaru, are you alright?" Kyou asked. He took hold of her wrists and helped her to her feet. Then he went and gathered the things she'd dropped.

"That power was... It was... Unbelievable. What on earth was it?" Hotaru asked, eyes wide in surprise.

"It's a technique called the Kamehameha Wave, and it's a large part of the reason I am not afraid of you," Kyou replied, handing her books to her. "See, along with the martial arts, I was also taught many energy-based attacks. They are formed by my spirit energy, and can be very, very destructive."

Hotaru remained silent for several moments. Long, disturbing moments.

Kyou sighed. "Look, I'll understand if you want me to go away. I'll just leave you alone now," he said. He turned to leave, but Hotaru caught his hand and spun him back around.

"Kyou, I'm not going to run. I won't run from you for the same reason you didn't stay away from me. I understand you. You had to use your power so you could save someone. I know how that is," Hotaru replied.

Kyou fixed his gaze on her as she spoke. She was right. He'd had to use his power to save someone. Her. "You really aren't afraid?" he asked uncertainly.

Hotaru smiled. "Kyou, I'm not afraid of abnormality. I'm an example of it. Aside from Haruka and Michiru adopting me, what you did just a minute ago was the greatest thing anyone's ever done for me." She blushed. "In fact, it was actually kind of... sweet," she said.

Now it was Kyou's turn to change color. Hotaru started giggling. Kyou grinned, but regained his normal skin color. "Is that so?" Kyou asked.

Hotaru walked over to join him. "I think it's time we got going. I have a curfew, even if you do not," she said.

The two gathered their things and went on their way. They kept talking about various things. Hotaru, without realizing it, reached over and took hold of Kyou's hand. Kyou did not notice either.

Finally, the two reached Hotaru's house. It was then they realized they were holding hands. Hotaru pulled away, blushing. Kyou felt his ears overheating, so he knew he was too. "Well, ah, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked, now thoroughly embarrassed.

"Yeah, tomorrow," Kyou said, a little uneasy himself. He turned and walked off. Finally he decided to show Hotaru just one more thing he could do. He stopped, looked up, rose into the air and took off in flight.

Hotaru watched as Kyou left, first walking, then flying. The latter startled Hotaru a bit. After all, he didn't have wings, and yet he was flying. She calmed herself, remembering that he was the same guy who had, twenty minutes before, completely destroyed a youma.

"Isn't that odd?" a soft voice said from behind her. Hotaru turned around to see Michiru and Haruka, her adopted parents, standing there. "I've never seen anyone fly before. Do you know him, Hotaru?" Michiru asked.

Hotaru smiled. "Oh, I know him," she said. The three went inside.

"So," Haruka said. "Tell us about your first day back. And then about whoever that was."

Hotaru started explaining her day. "We got a new student. He's actually pretty nice. He talked to me at lunch. The other students don't seem very thrilled about that."

"Uh-huh. And he walked you home after school, but why were you late?" Michiru asked, mock suspicion in her voice.

"Oh! I almost forgot. We ran into a youma on the way home," Hotaru replied.

"Surely you didn't transform?" Haruka asked. Hotaru shook her head. "Well, how did you escape? Alive? We never got a call to come help."

"Well," Hotaru said. "You know how the kids at school don't like me because of my powers? Let's just say that if they find out about him, they'd like him even less..."


	4. Chapter 3

[Chapter 3]

"Haruka, Rei just called," Michiru said. "She wants us at the temple right away. Might want to bring Hotaru, too."

Haruka nodded. It was only yesterday that Hotaru had been walked home by that boy, that Kyou Sudoba. He'd walked her home again today, too. He had jetted before Hotaru could introduce him to herself and Michiru.

Haruka went to Hotaru's room and got her. Hotaru sighed. She'd only been home for an hour and a half. She wanted to be alone, mostly because of homework.

The other part, however, was for her alone, and no one else. She had done her homework, sure. After she was done with that, she was free to do whatever she chose, even if it was just thinking.

Hotaru got into Haruka's car, reflecting on what she'd thought about earlier. It was only two hours ago that Kyou had left, and she'd thought about him ever since. She'd done that after he left yesterday, too.

She had to admit, when he first stepped into that classroom yesterday morning, she had thought he'd be another muscle-brained macho man all the other girls would flip for.

He turned out being completely different. In class, he'd proven himself intelligent. At lunch, he'd shown himself to be compassionate. In the battle after school yesterday, he was strong, yet selfless. All in all, Hotaru had to believe that Kyou was exactly the kind of guy she wanted.

They drove to the temple, and arrived within twenty minutes. Haruka and Michiru got out of the car and climbed the many steps, followed a few feet back by Hotaru. Finally, they reached the top. Rei stood there waiting for them. Her black hair stretched farther down than Hotaru's, stopping in the middle of her back, where Hotaru's stopped at her neck.

Rei was wearing her priestess robes; it was evident she'd been either reading the fires or in meditation. The rest of them were there as well. Minako, the flirt, brown-haired Makoto, gourmet chef and probably part Amazon, Usagi, the future queen and leader of the Senshi, and Ami, the smartest girl Hotaru had ever met.

If the rest of them were here as well, that meant one thing. There was a new threat. Hotaru should have guessed it. Why else would a youma show up? Or perhaps Rei had sensed Kyou. He had to have put out a lot of energy to destroy that youma and fly around like he had.

"I called you all here because of something I've discovered. Something has disrupted time and space. It's not affecting anything yet, but it has put out a lot of energy," Rei said.

"Can you tell us where it is?" Usagi asked.

"No, but I think it's getting ready for something. There's more. I noticed something else giving off a lot of energy. Looked like a human boy," Rei continued.

"We know," Michiru said. She glanced at Haruka, then at Hotaru. Finally, Hotaru gave up. She had to explain the whole thing.

"His name is Kyou. Kyou Sudoba. He transferred into my class. He's very strong, and defeated a youma in only two moves," she said. "He's very friendly, though, so we shouldn't have to worry about him."

"Are you sure?" Rei asked.

"He's nice, otherwise he wouldn't have defended me when the youma attacked," Hotaru argued.

That settled it immediately. Everyone agreed to be on their guard. They would look out for anything that changed in the next short while, no matter how small.

The girls spilt up and went home. The meeting was over. Hotaru went out to Haruka's car. She looked back up to see where the others were, and found Rei talking to them.

Finally, they came down, got into the car, and left. All three remained silent as Haruka drove. As soon as they got home, Hotaru went to her room, changed, and went to bed. She only pretended to sleep, since she really wasn't tired.

Her door opened a bit. She heard two voices. Those of her parents.

"She's asleep," Haruka said.

"That's good," Michiru replied. There was several moments' silence. Finally, Michiru added, "Haruka, Rei's wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"She's wrong for trying to do what she's doing. She can't tell us how to raise Hotaru. And she can't keep Hotaru from falling in love. In fact, I think that, if she already hasn't, she is going to fall in love with that boy," Michiru said.

"I hope she does. The way she talks about him, he would be good for her," Haruka said. The door closed again. This time, Hotaru went to sleep, wondering if what Haruka said was true. Maybe she was falling for Kyou. She dreamt about him most of the night...

* * *

After Kyou had taken Hotaru home, he'd headed out to the mountains. It was a good place to work, a good place to train, and above all, a peaceful place to think. He had been doing plenty of the third for awhile.

Since he'd left, he had not stopped thinking about Hotaru. Even when he changed subjects, it led back to her. He had to wonder what had made him fight like he had yesterday.

Kyou thought back over the fight he'd been in. He tried to figure out what had made him fight like he did. Primal rage? Unlikely.

Maybe he was just fighting to save Hotaru. But he had done it before he knew he'd done it. He searched deep within his heart, his soul. Was it possible that he, Kyou Sudoba, actually had feelings for Hotaru?

It was puzzling. Kyou had just met her a day ago. He didn't see how he could already have feelings for her.

And yet... She seemed so familiar. It was as though they'd met before. Kyou knew they hadn't, however.

Kyou sighed. He couldn't figure this out. How could he like someone he'd just met? It was impossible. Unless...

Love at first sight? That had to be it. _That's what's wrong with me,_ Kyou thought. _I've fallen in love at first sight. I didn't see that one coming._

Kyou instantly had a flood of questions in his mind. Does Hotaru like me? What if she does? What if she doesn't? What do I do? Do I tell her? Should I drop hints?

Finally, Kyou settled down. He decided to return to his home. He was back in five minutes.

Kyou entered his apartment and set his things down. Then he fixed something to eat. After he finished, he got some paper and a pen and began to write, spilling his finest thoughts and feelings into a written form.

After an hour of drafting, Kyou finally wrote what he felt were his true feelings. He glanced at the clock. Still time to do his homework before he went to bed. In fifteen minutes, he was done. He climbed into bed and dropped off to sleep...


	5. Chapter 4

[Chapter 4]

Hotaru awoke the next morning, early enough to get some breakfast. After dressing and eating, she left the house, headed for school. She got about a fourth of the way there when someone called out to her, trying to flag her down.

"Hotaru, hey Hotaru! Slow down!" the energetic voice called. Hotaru looked back to find the source of the voice. She received a great thrill when she saw that it was Kyou.

"Good morning, Kyou. It's good to see you," Hotaru said.

"Nice to see you too, Hotaru. How are you this morning?" Kyou asked.

"I'm fine," Hotaru answered. The two kept walking, saying whatever was on their minds about school.

They arrived and went to class. People shot them strange or angry looks, but none of them said anything. Both of them sat down. Hotaru began looking around. In that time, Kyou slipped a folded note onto her desk.

Hotaru righted herself and looked down. At first she didn't notice it. She shifted a couple of things around, and then spotted it. The bell rang. The teacher began his lecture, and Hotaru opened the folded paper. She saw the signature, then jumped back to the top and began to read:

_Hotaru, __  
__Since the other day, I've been trying to find out what was my deal in the fight. I spent hours in the mountains yesterday alone in meditation. I finally came to a conclusion. ___

_I discovered that I have feelings for you, Hotaru. I'm sorry if it seems a little forward, but I had to tell you. I know we need to get to know each other better before anything can happen, but I'll be patient. ___

_Waiting for your reply, __  
__Kyou_

Hotaru reread the note to make sure she hadn't misread anything. Then she refolded and pocketed it. She took out a piece of paper and a pen and started her own letter. She finished it in ten minutes. When the teacher wasn't looking, she slipped the note to Kyou.

Kyou saw the note and moved it so it could be read without anyone noticing. Then he opened the note and read it through:

_Kyou, ___

_I'm glad I know how you feel. And you are correct, we should get to know each other. But that shouldn't stop us from trying things out. Perhaps we can get something to eat today, if you want. ___

_And if you haven't guessed by now, I have feelings for you, too. ___

_Love, __  
__Hotaru_

Kyou glanced over at Hotaru. She winked at him. He smiled and got back to his work. It was a good day for him. Somehow, he felt it could only get better.

At lunch, Hotaru and Kyou sat together, talking and laughing. It was the first time Hotaru could remember that she had ever laughed during school.

Hotaru was completely unaware of it. Suddenly, Kyou's hand shot out and caught an apple, thrown at a high speed right towards her. She looked up to see him clutching it in his hand. Past Kyou, a group of students was slinking away.

"They really don't need to be doing that," Kyou said. "These beasties are hard and they hurt when they hit." He sat down, cleaned off the apple on his shirt, and took a bite out of it.

There were no more close calls at lunch, and the rest of their classes were dull. After school, Kyou followed Hotaru. She led him away from her home and into an ice cream shop.

The two entered, and almost immediately, someone called out to them. "Hey, Hotaru! Over here!" the voice said. Kyou looked around, and found the source. A teenage girl with long blond hair and blue eyes was frantically waving at them. Kyou recognized her from the sports department's Hall of Fame as Minako Aino.

"Hi, Minako," Hotaru said, smiling. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Hotaru. Say," the blond said, glancing over at Kyou. "Who's this tall, handsome stranger?"

"His name is Kyou Sudoba," Hotaru replied.

"This is the guy you were talking about last night?" Minako asked. Hotaru nodded. Kyou stood still, frozen by his nerves.

"Yeah, Kyou, this is Minako Aino. She's one of my friends," Hotaru said, introducing the two.

"Hello," Kyou said, bowing.

Minako giggled a bit. "Quite the charming one, he is. Well, come on! Why don't you two sit down?" she said.

Kyou sat down after Hotaru. Without either of the three realizing it, Hotaru reached over and took hold of Kyou's hand.

Minako and Hotaru began chatting idly, barely paying attention to anyone. Kyou didn't understand what they were talking about. All he caught was the words meeting, temple, Rei, and careful. Another girl came and took their orders.

In a short while, they were eating. Kyou was caught off guard when Minako asked, "So, are you guys together, or what?"

Apparently, Hotaru was caught unaware as well. She swallowed the ice cream she'd been eating and thought carefully. Then she said, "I don't know, why?"

"Oh come on, Hotaru! You two walk in together, you're holding hands when you sit down, but you don't know if you're together?" Minako said.

Hotaru thought for awhile. Finally, Minako looked down at her watch and said, "Oh, I have to leave or I'm going to be late! See you later Hotaru!" No one bothered to ask what she'd be late for, but she left anyway.

Kyou and Hotaru were alone again. They ate in silence. Kyou thought about Hotaru and about Minako's discussion. He wondered whether Hotaru actually would want to be in a relationship. It struck him that she may or may not want to be in one.

"Hey, Hotaru," Kyou said later. "I've been thinking about what Minako said."

"And?" came the reply.

"Well, I wanted to know what you thought. I didn't know whether you'd want to be in an actual relationship or not."

Hotaru looked up at him when he said this, then began thinking. "Oh, Kyou, I don't know," she said. "I just met you. I hardly know anything about you."

"There's not much to know," Kyou said.

"You've never told me anything about your past," Hotaru replied.

"On the contrary, I have. I trained at the Kirikado Shrine until last November," Kyou said.

"Is that all?"  
"Basically."

"Well, still," Hotaru said, trying to get away from this. She didn't want to, but she had to. "Despite how much I know about you, there's still plenty you don't know about me," Hotaru said.

"So tell me," Kyou answered, patiently and evenly.

Hotaru looked down, then back at him. Her mind was fogged with all kinds of things. Finally, she gave up and said, "Kyou, I can't. It has to be like that. Maybe someday I can, but not now."

Kyou nodded. "I understand. If we are to be together, we need no secrets among us. I'll wait. Someday, I'll know, and then you won't have to hide."

Hotaru felt tears welling up inside of her. It was so painful to do this to him, and even worse to see that he was going to actually wait that long. How long would she keep this from him? Days? Weeks? Years? It was such a simple thing. He'd understand it, and she believed he'd keep the secret. But she couldn't tell him until she had to.

He must not know she was Sailor Saturn.


	6. Chapter 5

[Chapter 5]

She let him down easily, so Kyou wasn't that upset. But he was still bothered. He kept asking himself, _What is it? What do I have to find out?_ Finally, it was, _Does she _want _me to find out?_

This last question posed some bit of a shock to Kyou. It was quite possible that Hotaru knew something she didn't want him to find out. But what? Her aura revealed that she was human. Strong, but a human nonetheless. Perhaps it was the_ reason _her aura was so strong.

That was it. That had to be it. She knew her aura was strong, and she knew why. She didn't want him to find out.

Something shot into his head. Someone in the city was in trouble. He got his training uniform and left his apartment. Kyou flew out over the city, headed for the person he sensed. There was a strong presence there, and eight more closing from various directions.

Kyou was in eyeshot of the incident in moments. A dark spirit was attacking a teenage girl. The eight signatures he'd felt also showed up. They all appeared to be teenage girls. They wore short skirts of varying colors, and what looked like sailor tops.

Kyou ducked into a near-bare tree, hidden from sight. He watched the new arrivals attack the dark spirit. They appeared to be doing little damage, but they had diverse attacks.

One used fire, one ice, one lightning, and another water. One of them used a gold chain, another used the earth itself. One other, a girl who looked almost like Hotaru, shot energy from a staff. The last was storing energy, preparing for a large energy attack.

Suddenly, without warning, the youma multiplied itself. There were now nine of them, one too many for this to be a fair fight.

Each of the girls went for a youma, but the ninth continued on its original victim. Kyou dropped out of the tree and silently approached it. The youma opened its mouth, as if to devour the victim.

"Now, now, we can't have that," Kyou said. The youma spun to find him, and Kyou threw a mighty punch, impacting the youma's jaw.

The girls looked at him, surprised to see anyone else arriving. The girl with the staff almost said something, but stopped herself. The youma regained its composure and prepared to attack again.

Kyou fired a Stunshot at the youma. It crackled with blue energy, then fell. None of the copies stopped. _That means that one of those girls is fighting the real one…_  
He left the youma he'd taken out to find the real one. One girl knocked out a copy with a lightning attack, another froze one. The girl with the staff, however, was struggling in her battle.

Kyou watched as she got knocked to the ground. The youma towered over her, ready to make the kill. It dropped itself upon her, and Kyou let himself go…

* * *

Hotaru, transformed as Sailor Saturn, was having a bad time fighting. They'd gotten the call from Usagi and left immediately. The youma was already there, preying on a teenage girl. Sailor Moon had interrupted the attack, but from there things only got worse.

The youma had split, making eight copies of itself. Each of the Senshi now had a youma to fight, plus one extra. The youma Saturn fought now was strong. She was struggling to keep on her feet.

Suddenly, the youma got a rush of power, enough of one to knock Saturn down. The youma was fast. She could not move. The youma made a move, a finishing move. Saturn's eyes closed tight as she imagined what would happen.

How would it end? Would the youma shoot her full of holes? Burn her from head to toe? Break every bone in her body? She waited for the searing pain that would be the harbinger of her demise…

But it never came. There was a sickening crunch, but Saturn felt no pain. Was that supposed to happen? Saturn opened her eyes, wondering what had happened. The youma had disappeared. In its place, she saw none other than Kyou Sudoba, reaching down to help her up.

Saturn hesitated, then took his hand. His grip was the same. It was soft, but still tight enough so that she didn't slip, but her hand wasn't hurt either.

Saturn looked for the youma. It lay in the ground, after a skid of about ten feet. Kyou must have landed a pretty hard blow.

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem," he replied. "I'm Kyou."

"Sailor Saturn," she replied. All of the other youma had stopped, so the other Senshi gathered around them. The other girl, the victim, came too.

"Sailors, this is Kyou," Saturn said. She introduced the Senshi, one by one. The other girl introduced herself. She, like Saturn, had black hair and purple eyes.

"My code name is Muse. If I tell you my real name, then my existence may be at stake. I am from twenty-two years in the future. I'm here to warn you of a threat to the world. There is an intergalactic tyrant named Bakoda. He travels through time and from world to world, ravaging entire star systems.

"Bakoda has invaded Earth in the future. The Queen and her guardians have managed to hold his forces off, but they can't hold out forever. They sent me to warn you. Bakoda thinks that to end his struggle, he must defeat all of you, here.

"The guardians want you to try to defeat Bakoda, since it seems he gets weaker in the past. You have to help, or the future will never be," Muse said.

The Senshi nodded. "Of course we'll fight. We kind of have to," Sailor Moon said.

"You can't face him alone," Muse said.

"I take that to mean you need my help, too," Kyou said. Muse nodded. Kyou closed his eyes and thought for a moment. Then, he grinned and said, "Looks like I've got little choice. Billions of lives rest in my decision. I'm in."

Saturn smiled. She knew Kyou wouldn't turn down the world. It may have even been that she – no, Hotaru – _was_ the world to him.

So why did she feel so bad? She had a vague idea how much she meant to him, and he meant a vast amount to her, too. But she had her secret, the Senshi's secret, and that could not be betrayed.

But he was in on this, too. Shouldn't he know? Should he not be told? If teamwork and trust were to be established and maintained, shouldn't there be an absence of secrets?

Muse answered her questions next. "If all of you are to work together, you need to be better acquainted. And I don't mean in transformation," she said.

All of the Senshi looked at Kyou, then at Sailor Moon. Each one silently wondered whether they should tell him. Sailor Moon seemed to think on the matter heavily.

"It seems to me," Kyou interjected, "that I am not fully trusted here. However, Miss Muse, I believe the same applies to you."

Sailor Moon looked baffled. Apparently, that was precisely what she was thinking. Maybe he was right. Maybe none of the others really trusted Kyou or Muse. For Saturn, though, Kyou was a certainty. Somehow, she got the feeling she could trust Muse as well.

"Therefore," Kyou continued, "I propose that you either reveal yourself first, or go back to the future and let _us_ control this."

Muse was unfazed. "I can leave if you wish, but it does little good. You see, I already know every one of you. Being from the future, I have that advantage. But you don't know each other. That's the problem," she said.

Again, the others looked around. Finally, Sailor Moon said, "You're right. We do need to trust each other. We need to learn from each other." Muse looked satisfied, thinking she had won.

"But Kyou's right as well. That goes for everyone here. We don't know you either. If you still refuse to share, then so will we," Sailor Moon said. The discussion was over.

Muse left, without a word to anyone. Kyou sat cross-legged on the ground. Each of the Senshi looked to him, then dispersed. All but Saturn. She slowly approached Kyou. She wondered how to go about this.

"K… Kyou," she said. "I wanted to talk to you. And to thank you for saving me."

"What did you want to say?" he asked. His eyes were still closed, expression serene. The meaning was clear: He had no problem saving lives, and it was unnecessary to thank him. Saturn looked around to see that the other Senshi had left.

"I… I wanted to tell you that… To tell you who I was…" Saturn said.

Kyou opened his eyes, and looked straight at her. "I already know who you are, Hotaru. I matched your auras, and your manner doesn't change either," he said.

She gave up and came out of transformation, an admission of just how correct he was. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Kyou, I'm so sorry… I didn't want to keep that from you…" She dropped to her knees and cried.

Kyou was at her side the next moment, trying to comfort her. "Hotaru, it's alright. I know you had to keep this a secret. It's one of those things you had to do. It's alright," he said.

He rested a hand on the raven-haired girl's back, and she fell into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder. "It's alright, Hotaru. I promise you, I will keep this a secret," he said.

Hotaru calmed down. She looked up at him with bloodshot eyes, eyes that were beautiful with their normal violet color. "You… You promise?" she asked.

Kyou nodded. "You don't even have to tell your friends. If they choose to tell me later, well, that's another deal," he answered.

Hotaru rested her head again. After a moment, Kyou said, "I love you, Hotaru." Hotaru felt tears well up again, but this time, they were tears of joy.

At that moment, she decided that she wanted to be with him. She knew she wanted that, and he did, too. It seemed right. He seemed perfect.

She would tell him the good news tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 6

[Chapter 6]

**-DECEMBER 2024-**

"Milady," the guard said, bowing. "Lady Jenta has just returned."

"Send her in," came the reply. After a few minutes, Jenta entered the chamber. She was sixteen, tall, thin. She had violet eyes that favored her mother's, and hair that complemented both parents.

"Neo Queen Serenity," she said, bowing. "My mission is complete."

"Then they've been warned?"

"Yes, my queen. They've been warned. There was some controversy on their getting to know each other, however," Jenta replied.

"No doubt Kyou was the one that started it all," Serenity said.

"Of course, my lady. He is my father, after all…"

**-August 2002-**

Hotaru awoke to the bright August morning in a good mood. She got out of bed and got dressed. Then she gathered her things and left for school.

Kyou met her on the way, as he had the day before. He seemed to be in a good mood also, but Hotaru could not read emotions as well as he could.

"Hi, Hotaru," he said. Definitely in a good mood.

"Hey, Kyou," the raven-haired girl replied. "You alright after yesterday?"

"I'm fine," Kyou answered. "You?"

"I'm OK. I have something to discuss with you at lunchtime," Hotaru said.

"Alright," Kyou said. The two kept talking all the way to the school, about random topics. When they approached the school, they received the customary evil glares, but no one dared act on them.

The day passed eventlessly until lunch. Kyou found Hotaru and sat down. Hotaru smiled brightly, and got another in return. "So, what did you want to talk about?" Kyou asked.

"I love you too," Hotaru said. This prompted a confused look from Kyou.

"Let me explain," the raven-haired girl said. "Last night, after the fight, when you held me, you told me you loved me. That was the most touching thing I've ever heard, because I knew it was true, and would be so no matter what. Kyou, I love you. Now that I know we love each other, I want to be with you."

Kyou listened patiently. Then he ran things through in his mind. Hotaru was telling him she loved him. She wanted to be with him. "Are… Are you sure?" he asked.

Hotaru nodded. "Then promise me one thing," Kyou said.

"Anything."

"Promise you won't get mad if I have to save your friends."

**-Elsewhere in the Galaxy-**

Bakoda sat on his throne, glaring down at one of his minions, Corona. "How have your plans fared?" Bakoda asked.

Corona, a buff man with bluish-white hair and cold, blue eyes, replied. "My youma has failed in its mission, master."

"Fool! You assured me your youma would be sufficient to destroy the Senshi and end all resistance in the future. How did you fail?" Bakoda roared.

"There was… an unexpected addition. It occurred shortly after the battle began. If it were not for that, we would have been victorious," Corona replied.

"Discover the nature of this anomaly. I want it dealt with. We must complete our mission," Bakoda commanded.

"At once, my lord," Corona answered.

**-Earth-**

After school ended, Kyou and Hotaru went to the Hikawa Shrine. One of Hotaru's friends lived and worked there, and her other friends gathered there out of habit.

"I need to talk to my friends about some things," Hotaru said. Kyou didn't mind, so away they went. They had not yet reached the Shrine when Kyou got an odd chill.

"Hotaru," he said. "I think there's something here." It was definitely something, a middle-tier energy source. Kyou stopped as he heard something touch down. He and Hotaru both turned, bringing them face-to-face with a pair of youma. They spoke in alternation.

"Ah, it's you." "The anomaly." "Our master sent us-" "-To find you." "You ruined his plans-" "-And he's quite upset."

"That poor baby," Kyou said. "I can't let him win, though. He'll have to find some other hobby, rather than to try and destroy the Earth."

"He refuses to quit, and-" "-You cannot stop him." "He demands to know-" "-Your origin, and won't stop-" "-Until he finds it."

"Let me guess, you two want to try to stop me from stopping him? Please. Tell your master to leave now, or he'll have a bigger fight on his plate than he wanted," Kyou said.

"You will see-" "-A tough fight." "Our combo attacks-" "-Will confound and destroy you."

The two youma flowed into identical battle poses, and Kyou responded by shifting into his own. Hotaru sensed she would be needed, so she gathered her pen and cried, "Saturn Crystal Power, Make-up!"

In a few moments, Hotaru had transformed into the Scout of Death and Destruction, Sailor Saturn. Now it was two on two, a fair fight. Kyou was not amazed, now that he knew who she was.

"Impressive-" "-Sailor Saturn, but where-" "-Are your friends?"

"I don't need my friends to defeat you," Saturn answered. She flicked her wrist and her staff appeared in her hand. The youma both attacked, and Kyou instantly prepared a counter.

The youma's attack was deflected. Kyou shot into the air and started firing blasts back to the ground. The blasts were weak, but they hit. One of the youma was vaporized.

The remaining youma did not run, did not fight back, did nothing to avenge its fellow. It simply closed its eyes and reached out a hand. In a moment, the other youma reformed.

Kyou saw this and shifted his attack to the other youma. This time it was destroyed, but its partner followed the same procedure used to bring it back a moment before.

"Do you get it now?" "We can reproduce each other for as many times as you can destroy us." "There's no way-" "-To win."

"Silence Glaive Surprise!" Saturn called. The attack, a burst of energy from Saturn's glaive, seared through one of the youma. As usual, it reformed within moments. Saturn and Kyou glanced at each other, and nodded.

"Silence Glaive Surprise!" Saturn called again. This time, her call was joined by Kyou's voice, screaming, "Kame Hame HA!" Each of the attacks targeted one of the youma, both made destructive hits.

This time the youma did not reappear. After a minute of waiting, Saturn dropped her transformation, just as Kyou set himself to the ground.

"Are you alright?" Hotaru asked.

"Yeah, you?" Kyou answered.

"Uh-huh. Let's hurry and get to the Hikawa Shrine," the raven-haired girl answered.

A few minutes later, they arrived. A girl with long, black hair and wearing priestess' robes awaited them. "Hotaru," she said. "You're late."

Hotaru whispered something to the girl, who said, "We'll discuss it later." Hotaru whispered something else, and Rei motioned them inside.

Inside the Shrine were several other girls and two other guys. The guys looked to be about twenty or older. The remaining girls looked to be in their upper teens.

"Girls, Mamoru, I'd like you to meet Kyou," Hotaru said to them. She turned to Kyou and began introductions. "These are my friends. There's Usagi, Rei, Makoto, Ami, and Minako. Over there are my adopted parents Haruka and Michiru. Beside them is Mamoru."

Kyou met everyone individually. Finally, everyone sat down. Hotaru looked over to Usagi and asked to speak privately. After a couple of minutes in the next room, they returned.

The girls talked for a bit, and helped each other with homework, since a few of them were in college and the rest in high school. Hotaru wasn't talking, though. She put her pencil down, and said, "Usagi, we should tell him."

Usagi looked at her, then glanced slowly around the room at the others, over to Kyou, then back to Hotaru. She nodded, and said, "Alright. Kyou, what you're about to learn, you have to keep a closely guarded secret."

One by one, they transformed. Usagi had become Sailor Moon, Ami was now Sailor Mercury, Rei became Sailor Mars, and Minako turned into Sailor Venus. Hotaru had once again become Sailor Saturn, Makoto Sailor Jupiter, and Haruka and Michiru became Uranus and Neptune, respectively. Mamoru turned into a mysterious figure called Tuxedo Kamen.

The whole force was here, and now Kyou was to become a part of it…


	8. Chapter 7

[Chapter 7]

Kyou wasn't welcomed easily, but he was welcomed nonetheless. He was put through a crash-course of their history. It began over a millennium ago, during the Silver Millennium. Usagi had been Princess of the Moon in that past life. The kingdom had been brought to a screeching halt by invaders.

To save the kingdom, the entire court was sedated and sent to the future. The invaders attacked again, but were defeated after a long battle. There were a few more invasions that were thwarted, and now this.

Kyou was accepted, since he had already fought and killed four youma. He would fight alongside them, and finally, he felt part of a family.

After all the introductory stuff was set aside, they began discussing these youma.

"These are all of a breed I've never seen before," Rei, the priestess, said. "These Gemini youma that Kyou fought sound especially tough. I mean, youma that can regenerate each other?"

"It's not as uncommon as it seems. My master can regenerate himself easily, as long as his head isn't damaged. As far as the splitting youma goes, both my master and I can create as many copies of ourselves as we wish, it'll just cost us a fraction of our spirit energy," Kyou said.

"But how do we explain where they're coming from?" Makoto asked. "No way this is a past foe."

"Perhaps they're youma from the future," Kyou speculated. "Or maybe they turned humans into youma, ones that know techniques similar to mine. Who knows?"

"In any case, we need to be on our guard. I recommend that we be around one another at all times, at least in pairs," Ami said. Everyone agreed.

The meeting ended, and everyone went home, save Kyou, Hotaru, Haruka, and Michiru. Kyou stood outside while Hotaru talked to her parents about something. Finally, she came out to join him.

"Hello," Kyou said.

"Hi."

"What was that about?" Kyou asked.

"Telling my parents about us," Hotaru answered.

"And? What'd they say?"

"They actually seemed alright with it."

"Are you allowed to come over?" Kyou asked.

"If you want. I need to be home in a few hours, though," Hotaru replied.

Kyou blinked. "I actually didn't mean tonight, but I guess that's fine too. I don't think the apartment's in too much of a mess," he said. Both of them laughed. Kyou did not live far away from Hotaru, so Hotaru thought he was taking her home anyway. However, they stopped at the Rose Deck apartment building, which was about five blocks past the school.

Kyou led Hotaru up to his apartment, 7D, and went in. He was decently well off, having a fair sized room in front, and a separated kitchen, bed, and bath. A sliding door leading to a balcony provided a grand vista of the city.

"It might not be much, but it is mine. My master got this for me, and I have a good bit of money for food and other things," Kyou said.

"It's nice," Hotaru replied. "I like it here. You've got it really good, you know."

"What good is a big apartment when you're the only one living in it?" Kyou asked. He strolled around his home a bit. "Alas, a disadvantage of being a sixteen-year-old orphan."

"I'm curious. If you're an orphan, and never knew your parents, how do you know when your birthday is?" Hotaru asked.

"I just picked a random day. One that wasn't close to a holiday. That's what I call my birthday. I get more presents that way," Kyou said, grinning. "As far as how old I am goes, I look at the mirror, then look at other people, and try to guess."

Hotaru stayed quiet. She never knew how hard life could be until she'd met Kyou. She knew now what Kyou wanted, what he needed. He needed love, and she would give it to him. Hotaru stood up, uneasy at first, but then walked over to Kyou and kissed him.

Kyou was a bit surprised, but eventually softened into the kiss. When it was over, Kyou asked, "What was that for?"

Hotaru shrugged. "You've gone your whole life without knowing what love is. I'm going to teach you," she said.

Kyou smiled, then took Hotaru's hand. He led her out onto the balcony. They stood there, holding each other, gazing out over the city's skyline.

"Hotaru, I just wanted you to know something. I want to be with you. I want to stay with you. I know you've never been in a real relationship, and neither have I. All I know is I want us to be together," Kyou said. Then he kissed her softly.

Suddenly, the whole scene changed. Instead of Kyou's balcony, now there was a white surface pockmarked with craters. Kyou wondered whether it was a vision of the Moon Kingdom.

Kyou looked around, and locked his eyes onto the only two people there. It was a man and a teenage girl, who herself was perhaps a year or two from full adulthood. Kyou tried to see who they were, but their faces were hidden. The girl was wearing a beautiful violet dress. The man sported black and gold armor, with a black cloak embroidered with a curled Chinese dragon in white.

"I know I cannot stop you from fighting, so I want you to come back to me. I want you to be careful and fight without fear. Let our love be your shield. Be safe," the girl said. The two shared a kiss, and the vision ended.

Kyou looked down at Hotaru. "Did you see that, too?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did. It was really weird," Hotaru replied. Both of them shook it off, and continued looking out at the city. A while later, Hotaru looked down at her watch, and said, "Yikes! I have to be home in five minutes!"

"Well, I can take you home," Kyou said.

"How?" Hotaru asked.

"By flying," Kyou answered.

"I don't know… Is it safe?" Hotaru asked. Kyou nodded. "OK," Hotaru said shakily.

Kyou picked the girl up gently in his arms, and said, "Hold on tight!" Then he took off in flight over the city. When he looked down at Hotaru, her eyes were shut tight. "It's okay, you know. Nothing's going to happen," Kyou said. Hotaru opened her eyes.

The flight went quickly. Kyou took a direct route, shooting through the sky like a hawk. Hotaru looked down. The streets and cars blurred past. It was fascinating. The air was so clear here. There was nothing to disturb them.

Kyou slowed down and started to descend. He landed directly in front of Hotaru's house. "Well, I had fun," Hotaru said. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course," Kyou answered. "Good night."

Hotaru kissed him goodnight and went inside. Kyou turned around and left. As soon as he reached his apartment, Kyou bathed and went to bed. His sleep was spent in a dream. It was the exact same as the vision he and Hotaru had had earlier, but in first person, as if Kyou were the man in the black and gold armor. When the kiss was over, the girl screamed, and darkness fell upon them. When it lifted, they both lay on the ground, unmoving…..


	9. Chapter 8

[Chapter 8]

Bakoda looked down on Corona in high disgust. "You have failed me yet again, Corona. Your Gemini youma have been destroyed. And you still have nothing on this new threat."

"My master, my youma are not powerful enough. Perhaps if we gathered more human techniques and energy we could…"

"No! No more techniques!" Bakoda roared, flying out of his throne. The light beyond his throne revealed him for what he truly was. His grotesque face was not that of a human. Instead, it was a ghastly purple color. He had one orange, leering eye, and a patch covered the other. He had black, greasy hair.

Corona was disturbed, both by the image of his master and by his master's burst of anger. He shied away slightly.

Bakoda, seeing this, calmed himself a bit. "Now, Corona. Listen to me closely. Take an armada of your strongest youma. Go to Earth and make your assault. If there is any resistance, annihilate it immediately."

Corona bowed low. "Yes, my master. I understand you perfectly."

"Go now. Make your assault, and do not come back without success. Remember, I want the resistance gone, but our main threat I want brought back to me alive," Bakoda said. Corona rose and left.

**-Earth-**

Kyou shot awake to an annoying ring. He reached out and hit his clock, but it wasn't that. Finally, some synapse in his brain fired and he realized it was his phone.

Kyou got out of bed and walked into his living room. He picked up his phone and said, "Hello?"

"Kyou. Thank goodness. Did I wake you?" came the response. It was Hotaru. Kyou glanced out the window and noticed the sky was dark and clear.

"Technically, the phone did, but I'll concede the point. What did you need?" he asked.

"I had this dream. It was kind of odd, and ended with a couple dying. But that's not all. I've got this bad feeling," Hotaru said. "It feels like something bad is going to happen."

"Well, do you want to talk to the others tomorrow?" Kyou asked.

"I guess we could," Hotaru replied. "But if it's just a little nightmare, I don't want to bother them."

"It may not be that simple at all. Maybe it was a premonition of sorts. After all, you said you had a feeling something bad was going to happen," Kyou said.

"Okay. We can see them after school tomorrow," Hotaru said. "I'll see you in school, Kyou."

"See you tomorrow, Hotaru."

Hotaru hung up the phone, and Kyou followed suit. He left his living room and went back to bed. He had no other dreams or visions that night.

Kyou awoke the next morning half-rested, but still ready for the day's challenges. He rose from his bed, and prepared himself for school, thankful he'd had no homework.

As usual, he met Hotaru along the way. She seemed less disturbed than last night. She was actually a bit more cheerful. The two of them talked, holding hands as they got on the school grounds.

The school day passed eventlessly as always, and Kyou and Hotaru got away as soon as possible, free for the weekend. They headed immediately for the Hikawa Shrine to meet their friends.

Everyone was already there, waiting for them. Nothing seemed wrong, but Kyou sensed something disturbing. He wasn't able to place it. It was a dark energy coming from nowhere, yet everywhere.

"You sense it too?" Rei asked.

"Yeah, and it's not good," Kyou said. "You guys might want to transform."

Each of the girls transformed into their Senshi forms. Kyou's guard instantly went up, and the dark feeling came closer. Within moments, it was directly on top of them. A group of youma and their leader, a man with bluish-white hair and blue eyes, landed before them.

"Ah," the man said. "It is so nice to have a reception. Conveniently, it's the very same group we are here to destroy."

"Identify yourself," Kyou demanded. "Who are you working for?"

"I am Corona, servant of Bakoda. We've come to take you away, boy. It's the girls we'll kill, since they are unimportant," came the reply.

"To kill them," Kyou said, "you have to get through me." He snapped into one of his offensive postures, which made it clear he planned to attack first.

"Wait," Sailor Mars said. "This is a sacred temple. We must fight elsewhere."

"Very well," Corona said. His energy rose a bit, and they were all transported into the mountains, six miles away from the city. Kyou again entered a fighting stance, and Corona sent a youma forward as a challenge.

No sooner had the youma entered the battlefield, than Kyou made his attack. He launched straight out of his battle position and flew right for the youma. Kyou rammed the youma head-on, sending the youma flying backward.

The youma did not get up. Corona overcame his momentary shock and sent out another youma, then another, then another.

Kyou defeated each and every one of them. All of the youma now lay on the ground, dead or dismembered.

Kyou pointed at Corona. "Now it's your turn. You've threatened my friends and my home. You won't continue with this," he said.

"Really," Corona answered. "I want to see you try and stop me." His energy rose quickly. Sailor Mercury began scanning it with her computer.

Mercury leaned over to the others and said, "Right now, Corona's power is higher than Kyou's. Kyou, however, is not fully powered, so anything's possible."

Saturn instantly became worried. If Corona overpowered Kyou, it was possible they'd all die. She hoped that wouldn't happen. "He'll win," she said softly. "He has to. There's no other way."

Corona's energy leveled off. "Now then," he said. "Do you still think you can defeat me?"

Kyou smirked. "I don't know. Let me check," he replied. Now Kyou's energy rose. Mercury's computer kept track of both energies.

"Kyou's still going to fall short. We may have to help," she said quietly. The others silently prepared themselves to jump in.

Kyou heard what Mercury had said nonetheless. "No, stay back. I'll do this myself," he said. "Just stay there and keep safe."

Saturn was not content to sit out while her love was fighting for their lives. However, her leader did not move, nor did her parents. As little as she liked it, she sat.

Kyou's power was surging, coursing throughout his body. All of the excess shot out from him in the form of lightning bolts. His aura became completely visible, a pulsing blue flame that surrounded him. Corona's aura was pitch black, representing the evil that filled his heart.

Kyou made the first attack. He fired off a volley of punches that Corona had a difficult time blocking. Only one or two of Kyou's punches connected solidly.

Corona returned Kyou's attacks just as brutally. Kyou managed to block a majority of them, but some still connected. Kyou fired off energy blasts to try to catch Corona off guard.

Corona answered with an electric-based attack, which wrapped around Kyou and began to electrocute him. Kyou screamed in pain and rage, and his power rose slightly more. Kyou broke free after enduring it for a few seconds, but he found it hopeless. He had to admit that as strong as he was, Corona still had him outclassed.

For the moment, anyway. Kyou gathered all of his energy and focused it. He concentrated on what his master had taught him. Finally, he was ready to transform.

He leapt fifty feet into the air, and called out, "Kirikado Dragon Soul, Manifest!" Instantly, he was enveloped in a blinding white light. Changes were slowly made. First, a streak of his black hair turned silver. A pair of bright red claw marks formed on his left cheek, and his eyes now blazed with the fire of a long-dormant beast that had just been freed.

Kyou's clothes had also changed. Instead of his school clothes, he now wore a blue muscle shirt, gray pants, black shoes, and a white cloak.

The light dimmed, and Saturn looked up to see Kyou's new form. Mercury scanned him, and noted his power was now slightly higher than Corona's.

Kyou settled to the ground slowly. When he touched down, Hotaru noticed the Dragon kanji was emblazoned on his forehead.

"Looks like you're the weaker one now, Corona," Kyou said. "Now that the spirit of the Kirikado Dragon has chosen me as its host, you cannot defeat me."

Corona was appalled at this new form. It made him drop his guard a bit, which was all Kyou needed. He crossed his arms in front of him, then brought them down, calling, "Dragon Flashfire!" Flames formed in his palms, which he shot out toward Corona.

The attack hit the demon, but Corona survived. His body was badly burned. Corona glared at Kyou and hissed, "This is not over. I will return!"

Corona vanished into thin air. Kyou closed his eyes, and said, "Dragon Soul remission." The white light flashed once, returning Kyou to normal. Each of the Senshi dropped their transformations as well.

The mountainous terrain faded, and the group was returned to the Hikawa Shrine. Hotaru looked over at Kyou. Kyou dropped to his knees and collapsed…


	10. Chapter 9

[Chapter 9]

Corona returned to the palace in defeat, but having accomplished his objective nonetheless. That boy humiliated him in battle, and now Corona would take the blame. But the source of the boy's power was one step closer to being uncovered.

As expected, Bakoda was highly displeased. Corona was chastised and ridiculed for his failure, despite the complications the boy presented.

"Once again, you have proven yourself to be an incompetent fool. Also a coward, since a true warrior would have fought to the death. I trust you've not even found this boy's source of power?" Bakoda asked.

"On the contrary, master, I believe I may have," Corona replied. "It runs through his blood like a disease. This one gives power rather than take it away. It is a well of energy, virtually limitless. It is certain he is not of this world."

"_Then where is he from_?" Bakoda demanded.

"I am uncertain. If I had to guess, I'd say he was Namekian, based on his combat style. He's not green, though, so that's impossibility. Is it possible he is a Saiyan?" Corona wondered.

"Impossible," Bakoda replied. "The Saiyans have all been abolished. Their homeworld is gone, and they have all been wiped out. I wish for you to rest now. We will find the answer shortly."

"Yes, my lord…"

* * *

Hotaru caught Kyou before he hit the ground. Kyou was unconscious, barely breathing. Haruka, Makoto, and Minako hurried over to help lift him. They carried him into the temple and lay him on a cot.

Ami scanned Kyou with her computer. "It seems that battle took a lot out of him," she said. "Having to endure Corona's attacks like that, then transforming and using that powerful attack, it's all exhausted him."

"Will he be alright?" Hotaru asked.

"After he rests a bit, he'll be fine. He's already regaining some of his power," Ami replied.

"That's good," Hotaru said. _Kyou fought for all of us today. He didn't want us getting hurt. He shouldn't have to pay for it now._

Kyou awoke after an hour, during the Senshi meeting. Hotaru was about to reprimand him for being up, but was glad to see him up nonetheless. _He must not be doing too bad_, she thought.

Kyou was quickly filled in. All they had done was talk about Corona's tremendous power, Kyou's transformation, and their need to become stronger.

"Why did you not tell us about this little transformation of yours, anyway?" Rei asked.

"Never saw the need to mention it," Kyou answered.

"You can at least explain how you got it," Makoto said.

Kyou sat down and began recollecting his memories. "It started a few years ago. It was during a training session. My master had infused the spirit of a dragon into the shrine as a guard against attack. Somehow, the spirit escaped. It tried to find a host to possess, someone who was young and energetic.

"By strange chance, it chose me. I don't know how or why. When it fused with me, I gained that transformation, along with many new skills," Kyou explained. "The only drawback is that the transformation can be draining, and sometimes I'll lose control of myself. I haven't done anything wrong, but I'll become more… ruthless."

"If you still have control of your conscience in your new form, that would be more a danger to our enemies than to us," Minako said.

"That's true. I'll train in this form a little longer so I can try and gain complete control of it," Kyou said.

They kept in discussion for a little while about the fight. After a while, they became bored and the meeting ended. Hotaru and her parents offered Kyou a ride home, but he politely declined. "Besides, I need the exercise," Kyou said. They drove off and Kyou continued his walk home.

The trip home was uneventful. The city was quiet, nothing unusual. Kyou sighed and went up into his apartment. No new mail or messages for him. Kyou went into the kitchen to get something to eat.

After he ate, Kyou sat down to do some schoolwork. He found himself missing Hotaru, and then felt stupid for forgetting to get her phone number. She had his of course, but how would she know he missed her?

Kyou kept to his schoolwork. He tried to imagine Hotaru there with him. It made him feel a little better. He got through with his work and went for a walk. The night was pleasantly cool, but not too cold or windy. He'd only been out a short time, undecided on where he was going.

He didn't know why, but for some reason he wanted to see Hotaru. So he headed toward her house. Only one light in the house was on, but Kyou wasn't certain if it was hers. Of course, there was only one way to find out.

Fortunately, he didn't have to. The window opened, and a silhouetted figure leaned out on the window sill. Kyou moved to where he could see the face. It was Hotaru, apparently bored to death.

Kyou admired her, how beautiful she looked in this light. Softly, so as not to disturb her, he called out to her, "Hotaru… Hotaru, over here."

She looked around for the source of the voice. Finally, Hotaru spotted Kyou, crouched in the bushes. At once, her expression changed from bored to happy. "Kyou! What are you doing over here?" she asked.

Kyou stood and walked to Hotaru's window. "I finished my work and went for a walk. I couldn't decide where to go, and then it hit me. I wanted to see you."

"You just saw me a little while ago. Are you sure that's all?" Hotaru asked, suspicious.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you. Of course, silly me forgot to get your phone number, so that didn't work out too well," Kyou answered.

"I wanted to talk to you, too, but you weren't home. What did you want to talk about?" Hotaru asked.

"Destiny," Kyou said.

"Aren't we a bit premature for this?" Hotaru asked playfully.

Kyou sighed. He was about to make himself sound like a complete idiot in front of the only girl he had ever liked, but it was everything or nothing. "Hotaru, do you ever have something happen, like it seems so random at first, but you get to thinking about it later on and realize that, for whatever reason, it had to happen?"

Hotaru thought for several long moments. Finally, she caught on to what Kyou was saying. "You believe that our meeting was fate, not merely coincidence."

"Well, yeah. I mean, look at how close we are. I'm happy, and I would hope you were too. But it's beyond that. Think about all the visions we've had. Each one of mine is the same as each of yours, but we didn't have them before we met. Isn't that a bit odd?" Kyou asked.

When Hotaru thought about everything he said, she realized that Kyou was right. Too many things were going on for it all to be coincidence. Maybe it was destiny. There was certainly no evidence against it. Or maybe it was more. Maybe, it was not only destiny, but history.

"Well, I think before we jump to any conclusions, we should talk to Luna. Maybe tomorrow or over the weekend," Hotaru suggested. Despite her own words, Hotaru felt herself becoming excited over this prospect.

"I guess we could. I'll see you tomorrow," Kyou said. He began to fly off, but stopped. "Hey, Hotaru. What if this is destiny? How would that affect us?"

"The way I see it, it wouldn't. We're already together, so we wouldn't have to break up with anybody. I guess the only thing left would be to grow closer," Hotaru said.

"But not too close. Any of that melding together stuff and I'm just going to be plain creeped out," Kyou answered, completely deadpan. Hotaru began to laugh. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams."

"Only if they're about you," Hotaru replied.

Kyou flew off and reached his apartment in moments. He changed and climbed into bed, then drifted off to sleep.


	11. Chapter 10

[Chapter 10]

Hotaru awoke on Saturday wondering what the day would hold in store. Nothing had happened yesterday, which may or may not have been a good thing. No one knew what Bakoda was planning, and it was clear that Muse would no longer help them after their last encounter.

She got up and dressed, then ate a little breakfast. When she was finished, it was ten o'clock, so she went to get the phone. She made to call Kyou's apartment, then stopped.

Haruka and Michiru were nowhere to be found. They were usually up by now. Even if they'd gone out for breakfast, they would have awakened Hotaru to watch the house.

Hotaru went through the house, calling for her parents as she went. "Haruka! Michiru! Are you home?" she called. There was no response from anywhere in the house.

Hotaru was panicked now. She ran to the phone and picked it back up. She frantically pushed in the series of numbers that would connect her line to…

Who had she called? One ring. In her frustration, she didn't remember what number she had dialed. Two rings. She hoped her parents were okay, please Kami, let nothing have happened. The other line picked up. Who would answer?

"Hello?" came the voice. Male, young, fully awake. Who else could it be?

"Kyou?" Hotaru asked hesitantly.

Kyou laughed. "I'm the only one living here, Hotaru. You know that."

"Kyou, have you seen or heard from my parents today?" Hotaru asked.

"No, why?" Kyou answered.

"They're not anywhere here," Hotaru said. "They'd have told me if they were going out this morning. I'm getting a little scared." Hah. "A little" was an understatement at this point.

"Okay, okay. Tell you what. I'll be over there to get you in say, three minutes. We'll leave a note saying you'll be with me until one o'clock. If they aren't back by then, we go to the others. Is that okay?" Kyou asked.

"Yes, that will be alright," Hotaru said. "But make it twelve-thirty."

"Done," Kyou said. "I'll be over there in a minute or so."

* * *

Kyou hung up the phone with Hotaru. She had caught him during breakfast, but this was important. He put on his weighted training boots, stepped out onto the balcony, and took off at full speed.

Kyou reached Hotaru's house in under a minute. He landed and knocked on her door. Hotaru opened it for him. She almost had the note finished. Once it was written, she put her shoes on and they left.

Kyou took Hotaru to the Western District park in hopes of taking her mind off of her parents' sudden disappearance. There were children at play all over, and people just sitting in the grass and enjoying the sun. It was enough to make anyone peaceful, but not Kyou, and definitely not Hotaru. That was not possible right now.

Regardless of how impossible it was to cheer Hotaru up, Kyou was stubborn enough to try. In his mind, he ran through a list of things he knew Hotaru loved, besides him. Her room was decorated in lamps. Her favorite stone was fluorite. Her favorite color was purple. Now he had to mold these things into a gift capable of moving her mind somewhere else altogether.

Unfortunately, at the end of an hour and a half, he had absolutely nothing. Hotaru now wanted to get back to her house. Kyou had no choice. He started leading her back home.

Much to Kyou and Hotaru's relief, Haruka's car was there. Hotaru's parents were back from wherever they'd been.

Hotaru opened the door to her house, and was immediately pushed back out of the way by Haruka, who was now in transformation as Sailor Uranus. The tall blond glanced at the two of them and said, "You two might want to transform."

Hotaru shot Kyou a quick look, then ran inside. She'd left her pen in her room, having had no use for it yesterday.

Kyou, however, needed no pen. He called his transformation. "Kirikado Dragon Soul Manifest!" Instantly, the streak, the mark, and the cloak appeared.

Saturn returned from the house. Out of breath, she asked, "What's going on?"

"Michiru's missing. She vanished, right in front of my eyes. I told Rei, and she wants us to meet her at the temple, transformed," Uranus said.

There were no objections. Kyou picked up Saturn in one arm. Uranus asked, "What are you doing?"

"Trust me," Kyou said. Uranus didn't, but she gave in anyway. Kyou grabbed her with his free arm, then took off in flight, taking all three of them to the Hikawa Shrine.

In minutes, they arrived. Rei was also transformed, waiting on the others. Uranus was a bit shocked. It was evident she'd never flown in open air before.

"What's going on?" Uranus asked. "What have you found?"

"Patience, Uranus. I haven't found Michiru yet, although I hope to. We must wait for Ami and Usagi before we start," Mars said.

It only took about ten minutes for Usagi and Ami to show up. "What's the problem?" Usagi asked.

"Michiru's gone missing," Kyou answered immediately.

"She vanished this morning. Haruka went to look for her before I woke up. I went out for awhile with Kyou and came back to have Haruka rush us over here," Saturn said.

"I think Mars wants us inside," Kyou said. He turned to Saturn. "But you know, I don't think we need these transformations right now." Saturn nodded her assent, and the two dropped their transformations, then followed Ami and Usagi inside.

Haruka was back in her street clothes as well. Rei was still in the priestess robes. Makoto and Minako were there as well. Rei asked them to sit, and for the next hour, Rei probed the fire for any clues to Michiru's disappearance.

Two hours passed. Rei had found nothing, even using everything she knew. Haruka was truly upset. Hotaru was worried as well. Kyou kept his silence, yet he wished to help them somehow, though he didn't know how.

Kyou closed his eyes and slipped into a meditative state. He concentrated on Michiru's presence, trying to remember how it felt. He remembered. It was calm, clear, and gentle, like water, but could turn violent and tumultuous like a hurricane.

With these facts committed to memory, Kyou began his search. No one in the city was even close. Next, he moved to encompass the region, then country, then continent. Soon, he had the whole world in his search. However, he still had no sign of Michiru, so he let go and opened his eyes.

"I have no idea where she is. I've tried using everything I know," Rei was telling Haruka.

"I couldn't find her either," Kyou said. "I searched the entire world looking for her, but I can't find her anywhere."

"You're not going to find her on Earth," a gruff voice said, "because she is not here."

"Who is that?" Makoto asked, looking for the source of the voice.

Kyou looked as well, then found it. A green-skinned man with pointed ears stood in the doorway leading outside. Kyou recognized him immediately.

"That's Piccolo-Daimyo," he said. "My sensei."


	12. Chapter 11

[Chapter 11]

"So," Rei said. "Mind explaining how a King of Demons is your sensei?"

"Former demon king. He's the one that adopted me as a child," Kyou said.

"Correct," Piccolo said. "As I was saying, it's unlikely Michiru's on the planet anymore. She may have been erased."

"What?" Haruka said sharply. "What do you mean, 'erased'?"

"Erased from history. No one will have any memory of her. Only you people have because of your special powers. No one else will know her, though," Piccolo said.

"How do we get her back?" Kyou asked.

"This change is part of a demon master's handiwork. If he's destroyed, time will automatically be restored. But be warned. If he erased Michiru, he can and probably will erase the rest of you as well. Be careful," Piccolo said.

"Piccolo-sensei, this is a problem. Without Michiru, we don't have a power to represent Neptune," Kyou objected. "Now we're going to be unbalanced. We'll be gone in no time."

Luna, who had come in with Usagi and Ami, offered her say in the matter next. "That's not necessarily true. I believe that when a Senshi is killed or disappears, her power will be spread to the others, and increase theirs. You'll still be at full strength, it's just that one of those powers will lack a body," she said.

Haruka remained silent. She was deeply disturbed by this entire matter. After Piccolo left, Kyou went to see if she was alright, and Hotaru followed him.

"Hey, Haruka. You okay?" Kyou asked. Haruka was facing away from them, and she shook her head. Hotaru walked closer and touched her adopted father's cheek. Her hand came away wet.

_Haruka-papa, crying?_ Hotaru could not believe it. All she had ever seen Haruka show was determination or love. She had never cried before. Something was seriously wrong.

Hotaru led Haruka away to sit down while Kyou sat down to meditate. He tried to fathom where Michiru was. She couldn't have merely been erased. Her soul was still fluttering around somewhere. On the day she was conceived, a soul was put into that body. With the body erased, the soul still existed.

Kyou stopped. He got up and hurried to the other Senshi. "I think I just got a crazy idea," he said to Rei.

"What's that?" Rei asked. Kyou told her his thoughts. He added every detail in. Rei nodded slowly, as did Ami, who had also heard.

"So even if Michiru doesn't exist, her soul and power still do. There's no way it can't exist. It, like all things, was created the same time as the universe. It was just never placed," Ami said.

"So if we can gather data on her body and history," Kyou began.

"And attract her soul somehow," Rei continued.

"Then we can join all our powers and create a body for the soul to reside in. We can bring Michiru-mama back!" Hotaru finished. They had no idea how long she'd been listening, but she had caught on quickly.

"So, we need Haruka to go get Michiru's pen, and we need Setsuna here," Rei said.

"Haruka doesn't feel good," Hotaru said.

"I'll fly Hotaru over there and get it," Kyou answered. "In the meantime, I want you to see if you can shield everyone in here from being erased."

"I'll work on it, but until you get back, both of you will still be vulnerable," Rei answered.

"We have a plan, now let's get to it," Ami said.

Before she left, Hotaru walked over to Haruka and talked to her. Kyou couldn't hear what was said, but he saw no change from Haruka. Hotaru gave up and walked back to Kyou.

"What's wrong with her?" Kyou asked.

"Haruka's upset. Really upset. Crying upset," Hotaru said. "She lost Michiru, doesn't think we can get her back, and she's waiting for something to happen to any of the rest of us," Hotaru's speech slowed during the last bit. She was becoming upset as well. Kyou took the opportunity and gently pulled Hotaru close to him.

"Easy, Hotaru. Calm down, take it easy. Rei's working on that right now. Nothing's going to happen," Kyou said.

"But you heard Rei. That will only protect whoever's in the Shrine," Hotaru said. "We'll be away from here."

"Don't worry. I'll protect you," Kyou said. "I promise."

With those words alone, Hotaru's fears vanished. Somewhere in her heart, she knew Kyou would protect her. She knew he'd do anything in his power to save her. His love for her flooded his body. It would not die.

Kyou and Hotaru left, Hotaru holding on while Kyou flew to her house. The flight lasted a few minutes. Kyou touched down in front of the house.

Hotaru ran in and, after a long time searching, found Michiru's transformation pen. She ran back out, and she and Kyou flew back to Rei's shrine. Kyou had picked up the pace a little, so the flight went quicker.

As soon as they returned, they hurried to find the others. Hotaru gave the pen to Rei, and Rei set it on the floor. Then she told the Senshi to gather in a circle. Haruka was reluctant, but she finally complied.

"Alright," Rei said. "I've got Michiru's transformation pen and her picture from Haruka. We need to transform, to enforce the Senshi power. Yes, Kyou, we need you as well."

Kyou joined the circle, in between Hotaru and Makoto, directly opposite of Rei.

"Now we'll all need to transform," the priestess prompted.

"Let's do it, guys," Usagi said. "Moon Crisis Power!"  
"Mercury Crystal Power!"  
"Mars Crystal Power!"  
"Jupiter Crystal Power!"  
"Venus Crystal Power!"  
"Uranus Crystal Power!"  
"Saturn Crystal Power!"

After the Senshi transformed it was Kyou's turn. Finally, he called out, "Kirikado Dragon Soul, Manifest!" Kyou's power rose as well, still higher than the Senshi's.

"Okay," Mars said. "I'm going to summon Michiru's soul here. Everyone except Sailor Moon will work toward recreating her body and memories. Then Sailor Moon will infuse the Neptune Senshi powers with her."

Kyou concentrated on what he remembered of Michiru. The other five did as well. Mars tried to summon her spirit, and Sailor Moon worked toward taking those two and infusing them with Neptune's powers.

A brilliant light shone throughout the room as the powers joined. The energies began swarming and soon the memories of Michiru combined with the photo Uranus put out. At first, nothing happened, but slowly, memories and energy came together. They slowly formed Michiru's body, bit by bit.

It took several minutes, but finally, the body became complete. It was Uranus who had provided the more intricate details. The body was finished.

Mars did her part next. She used the power of her soul and spirit to summon Michiru's from oblivion. Then she channeled it into the body. In seconds, the eyes opened, full of life and intelligence.

"What… What happened?" Michiru asked.

"You were erased from history by one of Bakoda's spells. Kyou and Ami thought your soul might still exist, lacking only a body and memories. We had to get your picture and memories from the rest of us and recreate you. We'll have Setsuna restore you fully later," Rei explained.

"Well, what do we do if Bakoda tries again?" Michiru asked.

"Rei's sealed the temple against any more timeline changes," Kyou said.

All of the Senshi, exhausted from their energy dropped their transformations. Kyou dropped his as well. Hotaru became dizzy, and Kyou slowly helped her to sit down.

"Are you alright?" Kyou, Michiru, and Haruka asked at once. Hotaru looked up, saw the faces of the three people dearest to her heart near her, and nodded.

"Well, I'll go let Setsuna know the plan worked. I'll be back in a few minutes," Haruka said. She and Michiru left, and the others sat down to rest.

"Well," Kyou said to Ami and Rei. "I'm glad our plan worked. I didn't sense any irregularities in Michiru, so it appears we've just done a miracle."

Minako spoke up next. "Hey, as long as you three are working miracles, could you make me a boyfriend?"


	13. Chapter 12

[Chapter 12]

It had been five hours since Michiru's rebirth. Hotaru was comfortable enough with the whole thing. Haruka was getting along decently, but something was still not right about her.

_It's me_, Michiru realized. _She doesn't feel like I'm the real Michiru_. This revelation shocked Michiru badly. Her own lover did not believe she was the real her. Her eyes welled up with tears.

Michiru heard footsteps down the hall. She looked up to find Hotaru coming toward her. "Hello, Hotaru," Michiru said.

"Hi, Michiru-mama. What's wrong?" the younger girl asked.

"Hotaru, I need to ask you something, and I want you to be completely honest. Do you think I'm me?"

Hotaru was confused. "What do you mean? Who else would you be?"

"I don't know. Haruka is avoiding me and I think it's because he doubts I'm the real Michiru," the teal-haired girl replied.

Hotaru was silent for a long time. Finally, she said, "Come on. Let's go for a walk. I don't know the answer you're looking for, but I bet I know someone who does." Hotaru went to the phone and made two quick calls, then she and Michiru left.

Michiru had no idea where they were going. It looked as though they were going to the school, but Hotaru made a turn a little bit away from there. Michiru was becoming nervous. It was dark, and there was no telling who else was about.

Finally, Hotaru went up to an apartment building that was apparently one of the better ones in Tokyo. She went to the board of people living there and pushed a button. A voice on the other end said something, and they were allowed to go up. Michiru still didn't know who they were visiting, so she had to be prepared.

They went up seven floors in an elevator, and Hotaru led them down a few doors. She stopped at 7D and knocked. The door opened, and Hotaru came face-to-face with…

Kyou. Of course. But why were they here? Hotaru said they were visiting someone who knew what Michiru wanted to know.

The elevator chimed again, and Rei stepped out and walked toward them. She was here too? Now Michiru was lost. Kyou invited all three of them in and closed the door behind them.

Kyou offered them something to eat and drink, but after they declined, he sat down.

"So, Hotaru, what are we all here for?" Kyou asked.

"Michiru-mama says Haruka-papa is avoiding her. She thinks it's because Haruka-papa doubts she's the real Michiru. And now, Michiru-mama's starting to doubt herself. So I brought her here to you and Rei to prove her wrong," Hotaru said.

Kyou studied Michiru for several moments, thinking things over in his mind. _Her energy reads as normal… Her aura lines up perfectly. This is Michiru, all right. How do we approach this?_ Kyou decided on the most direct course. "Michiru, why do you doubt your existence?"

"I don't doubt my existence, I doubt who I am," Michiru objected.

"Which, in essence, is the same thing, but let's go into detail a bit," Rei interjected. "If you doubt who you are, doesn't it stand to reason that you doubt you exist as well?"

"Not if I'm the real Michiru."

"And that's where we come to our question. Michiru, let me ask you something. If you're not you, who are you?" Kyou asked.

"I don't know, that's what I'm trying to find out from you," Michiru answered, becoming irritated.

Kyou pressed on. "You were created to be you, Michiru. You're the original. Because of Bakoda's spell, there was no Michiru Kaioh. There was no original, and thus nothing to make a copy of. You were brought here after the fact. We all worked to make you, the original. Even Haruka. You need to remind her of that. Perhaps then she'll see that she was wrong in her judgment. But there is one certainty: You are Michiru Kaioh. You're the only one there ever will be, now that this Setsuna has restored you throughout time. Understand?"

Michiru sat, unresponsive. She tried to grasp all of this, and finally got it. "Yeah, I understand," she said with new comprehension. She didn't know what it was, but there was so much truth in Kyou's words she couldn't help but believe it herself. She knew there was no mind control in him, because he didn't have that ability.

With renewed confidence, Michiru and Hotaru left. Michiru was now much happier, and Hotaru was happy for her. Now the only ting they needed to worry about was Haruka, but somehow Hotaru thought that would turn out alright as well.

Michiru and Hotaru got back a few minutes later, and Haruka was waiting for them.

"And where were you two?" Haruka asked. Her tone was not angry, merely curious.

"Hotaru and I decided to go for a walk," Michiru replied.

"You could've invited me," Haruka said.

"I didn't think you wanted to be around me," Michiru said.

"Michiru, I'm sorry about that. Really, I am. Kyou called a few minutes ago and told me about your meeting. He told me what you said and gave me the same speech and advice he gave you. I'm sorry I doubted you," Haruka said.

"It's okay, Haruka. I forgive you. Come on, let's go to bed. We've all had a long day. We need rest in case Bakoda has more plans," Michiru said.

All three of them went to bed. Haruka and Michiru slept in the same room. Hotaru was glad they had Michiru back. She was also glad that Haruka had accepted her as the original.

Hotaru began thinking about Kyou. _Who is this boy? How have I found him? It has to be destiny, that we were fated to meet. I'm very lucky to have someone like him, especially with how much we love each other._

Hotaru soon dozed off. She had been exhausted for most of the day. If it weren't for Kyou, she wouldn't be, but then Michiru wouldn't be around either. So they truly were fortunate to have him. And she loved every moment of it.

**-December 2024**

Jenta sighed heavily. It had been a chaotic morning, starting with her adopted grandmother's disappearance. A few minutes later, it was discovered to be a plot of Bakoda's. After three hours of mad planning, the missing Michiru appeared again. Bits of history had been altered, but Setsuna was almost done repairing it.

Jenta lay back down on her bed, letting her eyes slowly close. She dozed off, having gotten little to no sleep recently.

Later on, she was awakened by someone knocking on her door. She got up and moved to the door. A messenger was outside.

"Lady Jenta, Setsuna has sent me to inform you that she is finished repairing the timeline," came the report. "However, she fears that there may be another attack against 21st century Earth."

Jenta instantly became alert. "Who is it planned for?"

"We don't know anything beyond that," the messenger replied.

Jenta left the room. The messenger followed behind her, awaiting orders. Jenta went throughout the Crystal Palace, searching for Setsuna or someone else who could give her more information. Finally, she told the messenger to find Setsuna and tell her to come see her.

Jenta could not help that she was impatient. It was in her blood. Her brother shared this trait as well. However, if there was something planned, she needed to know. She needed to warn the Senshi of the past. Otherwise, they might have no future…

**-September 3, 2002**

Two days had passed since Michiru and Hotaru's meeting with Kyou. Haruka had kept true to her word. She accepted that Michiru was the real one, and now they were back to their old selves.

Now it was Tuesday. Hotaru had to go to school. She sighed heavily. She'd had little time to rest over the weekend, and had even taken a day off from school yesterday. Hotaru could only hope there were no tests she'd forgotten about.

Hotaru walked into her class, and found that Kyou was already there. At least the day wasn't a total loss. Hotaru took her seat and wondered what the day held in store.

A couple of teachers were absent, so the students in Hotaru's class ended up with substitutes. There was little to do except take notes until lunch. At lunch, Kyou went and sat with Hotaru.

"Hey," he said.  
"Hi."  
"How are your parents?" Kyou asked.

"Oh, they're a lot better now. Haruka-papa hardly acknowledges anything happened. We're a lot better off, and it's all thanks to your wild and crazy ideas," Hotaru said.

"I'm glad," Kyou said. He started staring at something, but when Hotaru tried to follow his gaze, she saw nothing. Kyou was unfocused, so he was either in a trance, or sensed something she couldn't see.

"Kyou, are you okay?" Hotaru asked, gently nudging him. His eyes snapped back into focus and he shook a bit, but he looked over at her.

"I'm fine," he said.

"What happened?" Hotaru asked.

"You're going to the Hikawa Shrine after school today, right?" Kyou asked suddenly.

"Yeah, why?" Hotaru asked. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sensing something. I think Bakoda's up to something. We need to warn the others," Kyou said.

"Okay, we'll do that. We need to be careful about Bakoda. He erased one of us, there's no telling what else he could do," Hotaru answered.

Hotaru waited out the rest of the day, wondering what could possibly have happened that Kyou needed to talk to the others. But the end of the day came quickly, and soon Kyou and Hotaru sat with Rei at the Hikawa Shrine. The three prepared themselves, and the meeting soon began.


	14. Chapter 13

[Chapter 13]

The remainder of the school day passed without event. Hotaru was concerned about what Kyou had sensed. Both of them hurried to the Hikawa Shrine so Kyou could divulge what it was.

They were the first ones to the Shrine, with the exception of Rei. Ami arrived minutes later. Within ten minutes, all of the Senshi had arrived. Rei motioned them inside to start the meeting.

Hotaru told Rei that Kyou had urgent news, and the floor instantly became his.

"Alright. A little while ago, I sensed something. I'm still sensing it even now. It's subtle, but it is definitely there. Bakoda's up to something. He may try to shift something else in time," Kyou said.

"Are you sure?" Usagi asked. "How can you tell?"

"I'm not certain that's what he's planning, but I'm pretty sure he's behind whatever I sensed. It feels like him. I just wish I knew what he was up to," Kyou replied.

"Well, I haven't sensed any problems in the city, so I doubt he's planning an actual attack," Rei said.

"We still need to be careful, though. Even if there's not one now, there will be an attack eventually," Makoto said.

"In the event he does strike, what to we do to fend him off? We've already seen an example of his abilities," Hotaru said.

"I have a proposal," Kyou interjected. "but I need the approval of the group, as well as my master."

"We'd appreciate any suggestions you can come up with," Usagi replied.

"My advice is a course of training. Not a full one, maybe only a couple of days. But it will help," Kyou said.

"Training?" Rei asked. "Spiritual or physical?"

"Both," Kyou answered. "My plan, given your consent, was to use the Hikawa Shrine as a spiritual training ground. Given my master's permission, we could use the Kirikado Shrine for a physical training headquarters. That way, we could split into two groups. Group A can be here one day, and at the Kirikado Shrine the next. Group B would be the exact opposite."

"That sounds like a decent plan to me," Michiru said.

"Same here," Haruka added. Since the whole ordeal with Michiru's disappearance, Haruka's respect for Kyou had grown tremendously. Everyone in the room turned and looked at Rei.

Rei met everyone's eyes, then finally said, "Alright. You can use the Shrine."

"Excellent," Kyou replied. "Now all I have to do is clear it with Piccolo."

* * *

It had been months since the last time he was there, but to Kyou, the Kirikado Shrine had not changed all that much. There were no obvious signs that any physical training had taken place. All of the cracked walls and floors had been repaired. Piccolo had been busy.

Kyou shook off his moments of reminiscence, and walked further into the shrine. He soon found his master, at the rearmost room of the shrine.

Piccolo, of course, missed nothing. His alien sense of hearing was far more advanced than a human's. And there were only a few people who knew where the Shrine was.

"Kyou," he said. "You've returned. What brings you back here?"

"I request the use of your Shrine. For training for myself and eight others," Kyou replied, bowing.

"I think I know what for, but humor me. What's the need for the training?" Piccolo asked.

Kyou explained the situation, beginning with his meeting Hotaru, the battle with Corona, and everything since.

"Hmm…" Piccolo said. "What you've told me… It explains a lot. I had sensed a lot of odd things in the city. Now I'm certain it's all related. Someone that shifts time… That's dangerous."

"I know," Kyou replied. "That's why I've joined forces with the Senshi. But we're still not strong enough. That's why I've come to you. The training will be all physical, and will be on a weekend – only two days."

"I don't know what you could possibly get accomplished in two days, but very well. You may use the shrine. I'll help as much as I can," Piccolo said.

Kyou bowed. "Thank you, Piccolo. The Senshi may not be ready for several days. I'll let you know when," he said. Piccolo nodded, and Kyou left.

He was back at the Hikawa Shrine in minutes, by flight. He walked back in, his face betraying no emotion.

"Well? How did it go?" Makoto asked.

"Piccolo allowed us the use of the Kirikado Shrine for two days. I'll be there both days, so the rest of you should divide up to take groups," Kyou said.

"That won't work," Rei interrupted. Everyone turned to her, awaiting an explanation. "I'll have to stay here for the spiritual training both days. That makes the groups uneven."

"Not as uneven as you might think," said a voice from the small doorway. Everyone turned to find its source. It was a tall woman with long, dark hair. Kyou had never seen her before.

"Setsuna!" Usagi cried. "How are you?"

"I'm well, princess. I see you've made an acquaintance. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Setsuna Meioh, better known as the Guardian of Time, Sailor Pluto," the woman said.

"Setsuna is from the future," Makoto explained.

"So even if you don't know her, she knows all about you," Michiru added, teasing.

"And since she stays with us while she's here, if you do anything to hurt Hotaru, we'll know about it," Haruka warned.

"Noted," Kyou said before muttering something about unfair advantages. Hotaru knew he wasn't really upset. She smiled at him.

It was decided then that the eight remaining Senshi would be divided into their groups. The inner Senshi, comprising of Usagi, Ami, Makoto, and Minako, would train with Rei on the first day. Hotaru, Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna would remain with Kyou and Piccolo. On the second day, the groups would switch.

"Now that that's settled," Ami said, "we need to decide which weekend to train on."

The next ten minutes were spent discussing the best time to train for the Senshi. Finally, the group decided that, despite their various activities, the best time would be in two weeks.

After that decision was made, the meeting came to an end. Everyone save for Kyou and the Outer Senshi left. Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna waited in the car while Rei meditated.

"So," Kyou said. "Have you talked to Luna or Artemis yet?"

Hotaru grimaced. "No, I didn't. I forgot, sorry," she said.

"It's okay," Kyou said. "We've all been busy. We'll ask later. Anyway, we have work to do for tomorrow, don't we? So I'll see you in school."

"Okay," Hotaru said. She got in the car with her parents and left. Kyou took off in flight, to meditate in the mountains.

When he finally landed, it was mid-evening, the sun low in the sky. It was peaceful here, only the chattering of a few animals to be heard. Kyou sat on the ground, cross-legged, and began to meditate. Like his master, he raised himself into the air as he sat.

There was little to disturb him right then. Bakoda had not made his move yet. Kyou concentrated on the training session, since there was little else to do.

Kyou began a mental map of each of the Senshi's abilities, trying to get a general picture of how to train them, when it struck him. Hotaru had had no martial arts training. All of the others had some fighting prowess, but Hotaru had no hand-to-hand experience whatsoever.

Kyou came out of his meditation and immediately flew back to his apartment. As soon as he was inside, he called over to Hotaru's house.

"Hello?" came the voice. It was Michiru.

"Michiru! Good. I need a favor," Kyou said.

"Sure. What is it?" Michiru asked.

"I need to borrow Hotaru this weekend, and probably next weekend too," Kyou responded.

"What for?" Michiru wondered.

"It just hit me that Hotaru hasn't had any martial arts training," Kyou said. "I know a good spot on the beach that's perfect for teaching the basics." Kyou realized as soon as he finished his sentence he shouldn't have started it with "I know a good spot on the beach…"

"The beach, huh? Sounds more like a romantic getaway to me," Michiru said playfully.

Kyou was not disappointed. "No, honestly. It's for training purposes," he defended.

Michiru laughed. "I know, I know. I was joking. It sounds like a good plan. I think Haruka and I will go along, too. You guys need supervision, and we all need a vacation," she said.

"Sounds good to me," Kyou said. "If anything happens, I think it's better to have four of us instead of two."

"I think so, too. Did you need anything else?" Michiru asked.

"No, that was all. I guess I'll talk to you all later," Kyou said. "Bye."

"Bye," Michiru said. Both of them hung up their phones. Kyou went to fix his supper, do his homework, and ponder how he would train Hotaru in just a few short days.


	15. Chapter 14

[Chapter 14]

Kyou met Hotaru on the way to school the next morning. She didn't ask any questions about the phone call last night. Kyou assumed Michiru had talked the plans over with Haruka and Hotaru.

The two got to class without incident. Class began with the principal entering the room. Following him was a girl about Hotaru's height, with red hair put into pigtails.

"Class, good morning," the principal said. "Today, you'll have a new student joining you. She just moved into the Juuban district. Her name is Adelaide Robertson. I want for you to make her feel welcome. I'll let your teacher take over now."

As Adelaide moved to her seat, she glanced over at Kyou. In that single glance, there was a myriad of things that Kyou could see. He sat for a moment, staring into the space she had just occupied moments before. Hotaru slapped him on the arm, and he snapped back into reality.

The first half of classes passed without event. Lunch came around, and Hotaru was none too happy.

"And just what were you staring at?" she asked, facing Kyou with a rage he'd never seen before.

"I wasn't staring. I was glancing," Kyou replied, not nearly as hostile as the raven-haired girl. "Isn't it odd that the day after I discuss your parents and us getting some training done, we get a new student?"

Hotaru calmed down and blinked. "Not really, no," she said.

"Well, I may be paranoid, but I think it is odd. I was seeing what I could sense about her. Same as I did the first day with you, remember?" Kyou explained.

"Well, yeah," Hotaru said. She was now much more understanding, given Kyou's explanation. "So what did you sense?"

"That's the odd thing. I couldn't sense anything," Kyou answered.

"Anything unusual?"

"Anything period. It's as if she wasn't there. But I was looking right at her. You heard the principal introduce her," Kyou said.

"Introduce who?" came a voice from behind them. It was Adelaide.

"Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it," Hotaru said.

"OK. I'm Adelaide, by the way," the new girl said.

"Hotaru Tomoe. This is my boyfriend, Kyou Sudoba. He's new here too," Hotaru answered. The air seemed to cool as she spoke.

"Really? Well, that's good. I guess I'll see you two around," Adelaide said. She turned and left, and Hotaru glared after her.

Kyou arched an eyebrow and cast a sidelong glance at Hotaru. "What was that all about?" he wondered.

"Something I don't like about her. Something… dark and evil," Hotaru replied.

"Hmm… either your mental prowess is sharpening, or mine's dulling, or both. I still can't sense anything about her," Kyou said.

"This is definitely something the Senshi need to know about," Hotaru said.

"Which thing? Adelaide, or the fact that I can't sense anything about her?" Kyou asked.

"Both," the raven-haired girl replied.

The rest of the school day passed, and Kyou could still sense nothing about Adelaide. She looked human enough, but Kyou guessed she was hiding a very dark secret.

Kyou and Hotaru left the school and headed for the Hikawa Shrine immediately. They ran into Ami along the way.

"Hi, you two," the blue-haired girl said. "What's the hurry?"

"Not much, unless you count a new student showing up that can block all of Kyou's mental power," Hotaru said.

"New student, hmm?" Ami said. "That's interesting. It's disturbing that she can block his power. I wonder where she's from?"

"Don't know," Kyou said. "The principal said she just moved into the Juuban district."

"That's where Usagi lives," Ami cut in. "Maybe she will know something about her. We'll ask at the meeting."

The group reached the Shrine, right as Makoto and Minako were approaching. The remaining Senshi trickled in over the next few minutes. Their usual meeting soon got underway, with Adelaide shooting right to the top of the discussion.

"Kyou's mental prowess is exceptional, as we all know," Setsuna said. "For this girl to be able to elude his senses is no small feat."

"Do we know anything about this girl?" Makoto asked. "Here or in the future?"

Setsuna shook her head. "We have nothing on her whatsoever."

"Perhaps Usagi's family can learn something," Ami said. "After all, Adelaide claims to have just moved into the Juuban district."

"One of us will get to it," Makoto said. "I live there too, after all."

"Come to think of it," Usagi said, "we did just get some new people in our neighborhood. I think I might've seen Adelaide. And I believe she has a brother."

"How can you tell?" Minako asked.

"Well, the guy didn't look much older than her, but they didn't share the closeness of a couple that's dating," Usagi replied.

"Don't even think about it, Minako," Makoto said.

Minako looked around the room, her expression one that said, "What did I do?"

"We can look into it later," Rei said. "For now we need to concentrate on the next couple of weeks. I have a lot of meditation, and I'm sure most of you have homework."

With that, Rei got up and left, and slowly, the others did also. Kyou was offered a ride home, but he declined. "I'm going to do a bit of scouting," he said. "Something about that has piqued my interest."

Hotaru kissed him goodbye, and Haruka drove off, while Kyou headed for a flight around the city. He eventually went to the Juuban district mostly out of curiosity. He made sure to keep out of sight, in case Adelaide or her brother was looking out a window.

He found where they were staying, and finally sensed something. There were two powers there. One was Adelaide; the other was probably her brother. They didn't feel demonic to Kyou, but they were strong. Could it be that they were like the Senshi?

Kyou put his thoughts away and headed for home. He had work to do for tomorrow, and for Saturday. He reached his apartment minutes later, and got started on his schoolwork.

Kyou was finished with his work within half an hour, and spent another hour in meditation. He attempted to plot out his course of study for Hotaru. He didn't want to seem condescending, but he didn't want to overwhelm her either.

Finally, he had it all together. He knew precisely what he was going to do. Kyou fixed his supper, ate, and went to bed.

* * *

Kyou overslept the next morning, and had to run to school. Hotaru was already there, waiting for him to show up. Kyou sat down and got his things out.

Hotaru glared at him over the first half of the day. At lunch, it was clearly no better. She confronted him directly.

"I heard you were over at Adelaide's last night," she said. Her eyes were blazing with anger. "Is this true?"

"Hotaru," Kyou said, trying to calm the girl down. "I was not at Adelaide's last night. Granted, I was flying over it, and I was across the street from it, but that was from an observational standpoint."

"And what, pray tell, were you observing?" Hotaru asked.

"I was observing the house itself. I was trying to scope out whether there was anything unusual going on there," Kyou said.

"And your conclusion?"

"I sensed Adelaide, finally, and her brother. I sensed that they are very strong. About as strong as any of the Senshi. Only problem is, I sensed no demonic energy," Kyou finished.

Hotaru was quiet for several moments. Finally, she said, "Alright, Kyou. I'll believe you for now. But I really don't want to hear anything else about you and Adelaide." Her voice started to crack a bit. "It's not the kind of thing a girl wants to hear about her boyfriend."

"I understand," Kyou said. The discussion ended, right as lunch did. It may have been his imagination, but Kyou could've sworn it had gotten ten degrees cooler.

Kyou did not bother Hotaru for the remainder of the day. After school, he met her at the door, as normally as any other day. He didn't want to do anything wrong, for fear of inciting her anger again.

"I'm sorry I made you angry earlier," Kyou said as they walked.

"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have fussed. You were only doing what you thought was necessary. I'm sorry," Hotaru replied. "It's just, I've never had a boyfriend before, and now that I have one, I don't want to lose him. I don't want to lose you."

"I know. I don't want to lose you either," Kyou replied.

"I pray that you never will," Hotaru answered.

The two walked to the Hikawa Shrine, trying not to let their earlier altercation bother them.

Nobody had any real news to tell of. Thus, the afternoon was spent in banter directed towards several of the Senshi. Kyou didn't take part in it, so no one chose him as a target.

As night drew closer, the Senshi found themselves winding down. Their meeting ended, and Kyou went home, as quietly as he had been since he and Hotaru spoke earlier.


	16. Chapter 15

[Chapter 15]

"Hotaru! Hey, Hotaru!" a voice called from somewhere outside the school. Hotaru looked to find the source and wished she hadn't; it was Adelaide.

"Yes, Adelaide, what is it?" Hotaru asked, as calmly and politely as possible.

"I've been telling my brother Delfino about you," she said. "He's interested in meeting you. Will you come with me after school?"

"Well," Hotaru said slowly. "I usually meet with my friends after school, but I suppose I can spare the time."

"Excellent!" Adelaide said. She turned and left.

"What was that all about?" said a voice from behind Hotaru which made her jump. It was Kyou.

"Adelaide asked if I would go with her to meet her brother," Hotaru replied when she had calmed down. "I agreed, so I need you to explain to the others why I'll be late this afternoon."

"I think I'll go with you," Kyou said.

"No, I need you to tell the others where I am," Hotaru replied.

"They're just going to ask why I didn't go with you," Kyou said. "Besides, I don't feel so good about this whole thing. Something about this gets under my skin."

"You're probably just imagining it," Hotaru said.

"Maybe," Kyou said. "but I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Hotaru was quiet for a few moments. Finally, she said, "I'll tell you what. You go to the meeting and I go with Adelaide. I'll leave my communicator on, so all of you will know if anything happens, okay?"

Kyou pondered his options. "Alright. You can do that, but be careful. And take your pen with you, too."

"Always," Hotaru said. "I'll be at the Shrine as soon as I can."

The two went into class. Kyou was still uneasy though. He felt darkness approaching.

The day wore on, but the feeling did not subside. Kyou was certain now that something would happen today. He could only pray he was wrong.

He was still sullen as lunch approached. He somewhat skulked outside, rather than walking. Hotaru noticed it, and voiced her concern.

"Kyou, are you feeling alright?" Hotaru asked.

"What do you mean?" came the reply.

"You've been like that for almost four hours now," Hotaru said. "Are you okay?"

"I… I don't know. I mean, physically, I feel fine. I just… I feel like something's amiss. I can sense it," Kyou said.

"Do you know what it's centered around?" Hotaru asked.

"I… I think it's… The whole world is in danger," Kyou finished. "The entire world is at stake, and with it, all of my world. And I don't know what to do."

"Well, all I can say is this. Worry only about what you have to, when you have to. You only have to deal with so much. And even that's cut in half," Hotaru said.

"Why is that?" Kyou asked.

Hotaru moved closer to Kyou and took his hand in both of hers. "Because I love you. I'll never let you handle any of this alone. I'll be here for you as long as you want me," the raven-haired girl said.

Lunch ended, but Hotaru's words were with Kyou for a long time after that. Her small speech haunted him during the rest of his class. The bell rang, and Hotaru walked off with Adelaide, but Kyou let her go. He knew what it was about now. Hotaru wanted to be trusted, and Kyou wanted what she wanted.

Kyou walked to the Hikawa Shrine, finally resolving himself to let Hotaru do as she willed, and not worry about everything at once.

* * *

Hotaru felt awkward, walking toward the Juuban district instead of toward the Hikawa Shrine. She tried not to let it bother her too much.

Adelaide had grown a bit quieter, which was a bit of a relief. The new girl rarely talked to Hotaru, but Hotaru was usually in a bad mood when she did, which only served to make matters worse.

Hotaru had not often been to the Juuban district, but the places were vaguely familiar nonetheless. She recognized some of the places where Usagi used to hand out, the Crossroads school, and a few other places.

She did not, however, recognize where Adelaide was taking them. It felt a somewhat darker place, all life fleeing from it.

"Where are we going?" Hotaru asked.

"We're taking a shortcut," Adelaide answered. "A shortcut to my home."

Hotaru still had an unsettling feeling, but she tried to brush it off. _Some of Kyou's paranoia must be rubbing off on me_, she thought.

Hotaru's stomach sank as they neared the main part of the shortcut. It led them right into a graveyard. This was not mere paranoia. Hotaru felt real fear of this place. Darkness filled it, surely Adelaide must know it.

Adelaide led further on, however, and Hotaru followed.

"Um, Adelaide? Are you sure the cemetery is a shortcut to you home?" Hotaru asked.

"No, Hotaru. This cemetery is my home," Adelaide replied in a dark tone.

Hotaru didn't realize it until it happened. Two pairs of skeletal hands shot out of the ground and grabbed her ankles. Startled, she tried to run and fell, allowing two other pairs of hand to grab her wrists. Hotaru tried to free a hand so she could get to her communicator, her pen, anything.

Adelaide bent down and picked up the communicator and pen, which had fallen out of Hotaru's bag. She cackled as she stood over Hotaru. "Do you still not understand? The graveyard, the skeletons, all controlled by me and my brother," she said.

"You. You're a demon. Now I know why Kyou didn't trust you," Hotaru spat.

"I'm afraid that's where you're wrong," a male voice interceded. "While it is true we work for the demon master Bakoda, we ourselves are quite human."

"Hotaru," Adelaide said. "Allow me to introduce my brother, Delfino."

Hotaru looked up to see Adelaide's brother. He looked surprisingly similar to Adelaide. They shared red hair and shining eyes, as well as a dark presence.

"So you're human. How are you controlling these skeletons?" Hotaru asked.

"We have a very special talent, Hotaru. We, Adelaide and I, are necromancers. We control the dead, using them to serve our purposes," Delfino said.

"And you aren't the only one we're going to add to our forces," Adelaide said. "Bakoda has ordered us to go and lure your darling Kyou here as well."

That woke Hotaru up quickly. "Kyou? You… You wouldn't. You can't!" If they controlled Kyou, the future was doomed.

"You can't stop her as long as my skeletal servants are holding you in place. By the time Kyou gets here, he'll be too late to defend you, himself, or anyone," Delfino said.

Hotaru knew her situation was hopeless. She couldn't transform, nor could she warn the others. She had no hope of escape as long as Adelaide had her pen and communicator.

Adelaide was leaving the graveyard now. Unless Kyou was as paranoid as he had been earlier, the future was certainly facing its end…


	17. Chapter 16

[Chapter 16]

_If ever there was a time I was right, I wish this wasn't it_, Kyou thought. He had sat in a nervous silence since he arrived. Haruka and Michiru instantly asked him where Hotaru was. When he answered, they were not pleased with the result.

If this meeting could get worse, Kyou could not see how. After being accused of not protecting Hotaru, despite his objections that he had tried to accompany her, the Senshi droned on, wondering what to do about Adelaide, but more importantly about Bakoda.

Currently, Rei was talking, sharing what she had thought of in her own spare time. She was interrupted by someone bursting in through the door. It was Adelaide, and she looked panic-stricken.

"Kyou! You've got to come quick! It's Hotaru! She's in danger!"

Kyou's head snapped up and around to catch a glimpse of the redhead. "What? What happened?" he demanded.

"I… I don't know. We were walking, and… We were attacked! Some strange-looking creature! You have to help," Adelaide said.

"Lead the way," Kyou responded. The two of them were out the door before anyone could stop them.

Kyou was too far away now to call back, but the Senshi were determined to help. Haruka and Michiru were first to their feet. Each of them transformed, then followed Kyou using Mercury's computer.

Kyou followed Adelaide on foot, knowing she probably wouldn't be able to recognize the place from above. She moved quickly, leading him toward the Juuban district with utmost importance.

Finally, Adelaide stopped. "This… This is… where the attack was," she said panting. Kyou looked at the place and balked. They stood outside of the graveyard of Juuban, where those who weren't cremated were buried instead.

Kyou reminded himself who he was here for, and went inside. The gates slammed shut firmly behind him. He was trapped. Kyou's guard went up, and he proceeded deeper into the graveyard, calling Hotaru's name as he went. He got no response, a fact which chilled his bones. Kyou looked around to see where Adelaide was, but she was nowhere in sight.

Suddenly, a hand shot up out of the ground and seized his ankle. Kyou looked down and blasted it, disintegrating the skeletal hand instantly. Several others reached up for him, but he continued to beat them back.

Finally, Kyou began to encounter entire skeletons and corpses. He defeated many of them, but there were still more for him to face. Their numbers were growing.

Kyou was soon overwhelmed, and several of the corpses drug him away, to meet their master. He was, within a few minutes, face-to-face with the controller of the dead.

"Ah, Kyou Sudoba. How nice to finally meet you," the controller said. He had red hair and a face very similar to…

Adelaide! She was right there, standing behind him. Now she moved to join him. "See, brother? I told you he'd come. He'll stop at nothing to save his precious Hotaru," she said.

"Adelaide," Kyou said darkly. "You set all this up. You lured me here. You're working for Bakoda, aren't you?"

"Yes, Kyou," Adelaide said. "Delfino and I are under Bakoda's pay. He wanted us to kill you, and use your corpse for his own ends."

"Where is Hotaru?" Kyou demanded.

"She's here. And she's just dying to see you," Delfino answered. He and Adelaide stepped aside, revealing Hotaru, bound similarly to Kyou. A skeleton held a knife to her throat, but she didn't appear to have been harmed.

"Let her go," Kyou said. "You've got me, now release Hotaru."

"How sickeningly sweet," Delfino taunted. "However, we can't do that. See, Bakoda ordered us to kill you. The girl is just a bonus. We're going to have both of your bodies. Starting with hers."

Delfino moved over to Hotaru and took the knife from the skeleton's hand. Kyou struggled maddeningly to break free, but the corpses weighed him down. One of the corpses got a lock on his head and kept it in place, watching Hotaru.

The moment was over quickly, although time seemed to slow in that instant. Delfino pulled the knife back and plunged inward, penetrating the raven-haired girl's gut. Hotaru gasped in pain and surprise, and her head fell forward. The corpses released her and she fell to the ground.

All of it was too much for Kyou to bear. His anger and grief were pushed over the edge. His power level shot up, reaching heights previously unattainable. His hair stood straight up, and with a pulse of his tremendous energy, the corpses holding him were vaporized. He unleashed a blood-chilling cry and transformed…

* * *

The sensors on Mercury's computer were going haywire. There was suddenly a drop in one energy reading, and an immeasurable burst in another.

As they ran, Mercury alerted the others. "Guys, something serious is happening. We need to hurry."

* * *

Piccolo sat in his meditation chamber, now highly disturbed by what he felt. _There's a large amount of energy being put out, he thought to himself. But, the last time I felt this much energy was when Goten and Trunks were still alive. It's impossible to be feeling this. Unless…_

Piccolo stood and left the confines of the Kirikado Shrine, bound for the graveyard, and his pupil…

* * *

The Senshi arrived first, followed closely by Piccolo. They all saw the same shocking sights. Hotaru lay on the ground, a pool of blood forming around her. Kyou was standing, but he was drastically changed. His hair stood straight up, but was gold instead of black. When they saw his eyes, they were a piercing teal, as opposed to his normal cool blue.

"We have to do something," Piccolo said.

"What about Hotaru?" Neptune asked.

"She's still alive, but only barely," Piccolo said. "Which one of you can heal people?"

"I can," Sailor Moon said.

"Good. Come with me. Those two are necromancers. They'll have skeletons on you in an instant, but I can cover you," Piccolo replied.

The Namekian picked Sailor Moon up and flew over to Hotaru. Meanwhile, the others watched Kyou's battle.

Kyou stood in one spot, but he could be felt all over the cemetery. His aura was like a golden flame, jumping out from his body.

"Do you see now, Delfino?" Kyou asked, surprisingly calm. "Do you see what Bakoda has driven you to do? You've fatally wounded a fellow human. And for what? Money? Power? Neither of these is important.

"You have injured someone I care deeply for. For that, I cannot forgive you. Surrender now, and you yet may live," Kyou said.

"Yes, yes, I see," Delfino said. "I was wrong in my ways. I should not have hurt the girl. I should have killed you first!" With that, Delfino charged forward, knife still in his hand.

Kyou was unfazed. He rose one arm, extended a finger, and muttered, "Insolence." Then an energy beam shot from his fingertip and pierced Delfino in the arm. The necromancer fell, gripping the burned flesh on his arm.

"Final chance. Do you surrender, or do I destroy you?" Kyou asked.

"Neither," Delfino said. He gathered every scrap of his spiritual energy together. "TWENTY-TON BONE CRUSH!" At that command, every skeleton and corpse in the graveyard gathered together. Thousands of bodies were there. They all formed into an enormous tidal wave bent on one purpose: Kyou's demise.

Kyou faced the necromancer's onslaught without fear or movement. His power level rose even higher. The skeletal wave was ultimately on top of him now, but he aimed a hand at it and cried out, "Konton yokusei!" His eyes, even the white part, glowed a solid, bright blue. The wave was surrounded in a wash of blue energy, and stopped before it fell atop Kyou.

Kyou held the wave of corpses in place, and then, as if he were actually touching it, thrust his arm forward like he was throwing it back. The wave retreated, falling backwards. Delfino threw out a loud cry of terror, but was drowned out by the thousands of bones cracking as they hit the ground. In moments, all was silent.

The Senshi stared at Kyou. They could not believe the sheer amount of energy he had just displayed. Piccolo was apparently impressed as well.

Adelaide was beside herself. She could not see how her brother had been so easily dispatched.

Kyou turned to her now. "It's your turn to decide. Your brother's arrogance was his downfall. Don't let the same become of you."

"What do you want from me?" Adelaide asked.

"Leave. Leave this place, leave Bakoda's service. Make a new start for yourself. This is your second chance. Use it for the benefit of all," Kyou answered. Adelaide ran from the graveyard, never to be seen again. Kyou powered down.

Kyou ran instantly for Hotaru. The Senshi followed closely. Sailor Moon had already healed her, and now she lay asleep on the ground.

"We should go back to the shrine. I believe I have a few things to explain," Piccolo said.

Kyou picked up Hotaru. He led the Senshi out of the graveyard. Haruka stopped him before he took off in flight.

"I wanted to tell you, I'm sorry that we doubted you earlier. We didn't think you cared enough about Hotaru, that you wouldn't protect her. We were wrong," Haruka said.

"It's alright. We've all had our revelations today, and I feel that we only have more to gain before the day's over," Kyou answered. He flew off for the Shrine while the Senshi walked.

When everyone had arrived, they turned to Piccolo. Piccolo, outnumbered and helpless, said, "Alright, I'll start from the beginning…"


	18. Chapter 17

[Chapter 17]

The Senshi, Kyou, and Piccolo gathered where Hotaru lay resting. The old Namekian took a deep breath, and began his tale.

"As you all know, I have been alive for a long, long time. I have seen many things in my life, and fought many battles. Kyou's new power is not as new as you may think.

"A long time ago, a small pod landed on the planet. It contained one of six survivors of a xenocide. This boy was a Saiyan, a race of inter-galactic destroyers.

"I first encountered him almost ten years after his arrival on Earth. An injury to his head had caused him to forget what he was sent here to do – destroy the planet. His name was Son Goku.

"After spending our youth at odds with one another, we were forced to join forces. Goku's brother had arrived to finish the mission Goku had failed. In doing so, he kidnapped Goku's son, Gohan. Goku sacrificed himself to defeat Raditz, his brother.

"However, it was mere moments later we learned two more Saiyans were to arrive within a year. In the Earth's best interest, I took Gohan as my first student.

"Goku was restored to life a year later, when the other two Saiyans arrived. After a long battle in which I was killed, one of the Saiyans died while the other escaped.

"In an effort to restore my life, Gohan and some of his friends made a journey to my home planet, Namek. A tyrant named Freeza was killing my people, but Goku soon arrived to help. It was in this battle that the power first surfaced.

"One of Goku's closest friends, Kulilin, was killed in the battle with Freeza. Goku, enraged by such a cold-blooded and heartless act, entered a new level of power known as Super Saiyan. Freeza was eventually defeated, and in the years following, other Saiyans, whether pureblood or not, also transformed. It is now evident Kyou is no exception," Piccolo said.

"You're saying… Kyou is some sort of space alien?" Minako asked.

"Yes. Specifically, he is the last surviving member of his race," Piccolo answered.

"But all of these events occurred years ago," Rei said. "Just how old is Kyou, anyway?"

Luna and Artemis, who had been awaiting the Senshi and sitting in on the meeting, entered the discussion at this point.

"We've done research on this matter, out of our own curiosity," Luna said.

"Obviously it didn't kill either of us," Artemis interjected.

"It seems," Luna said, now annoyed, "that Kyou was one of the earlier Saiyans. In fact, he was one of the guards in the Moon Kingdom."

"How is that possible?" Usagi asked. "He'd have to be a thousand years old."

"He was sent out as an explorer, to find planets to conquer. He landed on the Moon and decided to abandon his people. He apparently fell in love with one of the princesses and became her guardian, so he was reborn along with the rest of you," Artemis said.

"That must be when I found him," Piccolo said. "I discovered him abandoned as an infant. I took him in and raised him, but it wasn't for a couple of years that I discovered his power, and his origins."

"Therefore," Luna continued, "when Kyou says he's seventeen, he is correct. He's merely in his second life, as are all of you."

"So Kyou's a Saiyan, and a guard of the Moon Kingdom. Where do we go from here?" Rei asked.

"There are four levels of Super Saiyan," Piccolo said. "Kyou should try to advance as far as he can."

"Don't forget," Ami said. "He was also a guard of one of the princesses. That power from his past may also arise. We need to try to develop that as well."

"In the meantime, I must return to my own shrine and prepare for your training. Goodbye for now," Piccolo said. The Namek left, and Kyou checked to see how Hotaru was.

Much to his surprise and joy, she was awake. "How are you feeling?" Kyou asked.

"I'm alright. Delfino and Adelaide…" Hotaru said.

"Delfino is dead. Adelaide left. She decided it wasn't worth it," Kyou said.

"And how are you doing?" Hotaru asked. When she received a quizzical look from Kyou, she added, "I was awake when Piccolo was here. I know as much as you do now."

"Yes, well, I'm still trying to swallow all of it. What about you?" Kyou asked.

"Oh, it's a shock, to be sure. But I do have one claim no one else does," Hotaru said.

"And that is?"

Hotaru gave him a playful smile. "I can honestly say that I've kissed an alien," she said.

* * *

Corona remained in his own chamber, wondering what could possibly have been so urgent. Aquias entered the chamber, properly announced, and knelt before him.

"Rise, Aquias," Corona said. "You bring me bad news?"

"Indeed so, my lord. It seems the necromancers failed in their mission," Aquias said.

"I would say so," Corona replied. "One of them is dead. We've lost all contact with the other."

"Yes lord, there is that. But I have more pressing news," Aquias said.

"And that is?" Corona asked.

"Kyou's origins are now clear," Aquias said. "He is a Saiyan."

"What? Impossible!" Corona roared. "How did you come by this?"

"He transformed into a Super Saiyan. That's how he killed Delfino," Aquias said.

"Inform Master Bakoda immediately," ordered Corona. Aquias bowed and left.

Corona, for the first time, was afraid of someone other than his own master…

* * *

Kyou got home utterly exhausted. The battle had taken a lot of energy out of him. The transformation was not the only draining thing. Kyou had rarely used the Konton Yokusei, the Chaos Control; it was less common to see than his Kirikado Dragon form.

Kyou was amazed at his own prowess with the Chaos Control. It was a complicated technique to learn, and even more so to use. It gave him many powers, from controlling portions of or whole enemies and attacks to allowing him to teleport.

Since he had used the Chaos Control on his first attempt, that was a clear sign his strength and skill were improving. He briefly wondered how much stronger he could get. Could he do as Piccolo said, and advance to Super Saiyan 4? Could he, as Ami suggested, unlock his former life's powers? Could he surpass either or both of them?

Kyou considered his options, but decided to leave things be until he trained with the Senshi. His martial arts sessions with Hotaru and her family were coming up soon, as were the sessions with the whole group.

Kyou ate his supper and went immediately to bed. Almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was asleep.

He was out for a good couple of hours when there was a scratching on his door. With his exceptional hearing, it was enough to wake him up. Annoyed, he got up to see who – or what – it was.

Kyou crossed his apartment, and opened the front door. Standing outside was a brown cat with black stripes along its back. It had yellow eyes that shone in the hallway's lights.

"Hello there," Kyou said. "Where did you come from?"

The cat looked up at him. "Finally," the cat said. It was, based on its voice, female. "I've been looking all over the country for you, Kyou."


	19. Chapter 18

[Chapter 18]

Kyou stared in utter disbelief at the cat now before him. "You've been looking… for me?" he asked.

"That's right. It's my job as your guardian," the cat replied.

"My guardian? Since when do I have a guardian?" the Saiyan said.

"Technically, since you were reborn. I couldn't find you, though. Piccolo didn't let you out much, did he?" the cat asked.

"No. But still, who are you anyway?" Kyou returned.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ganymede," the cat stated. "I'm the fourth guardian of the Senshi, but mainly of you."

"What would I need with a guardian? I am a Saiyan, you know," Kyou said indignantly.

"In your case," Ganymede replied, "I serve as more of an advisor. Give you advice and then, help you decide what to do."

Kyou nodded. "And is part of your advisory capacity to wake teenagers up in the middle of the night?"

Ganymede cocked her head to one side in confusion. Kyou pointed to the clock, which displayed the time: one-thirty in the morning. "Oops," the cat said.

"Well, I need sleep, and you need a place to go before Animal Control throws you in a cell somewhere," Kyou said. "So come in and let's get some sleep, for Pete's sake."

* * *

Saturday arrived, with no more interruptions from youma of any sort. Kyou was on the beach before dawn. He sat on the sand, looking out over the ocean. Ganymede walked around casually, the tag Kyou had bought her jingling occasionally.

Kyou watched the sun slowly begin to rise. The glittering waves of the Pacific Ocean caught the sun and shattered it, refracting it in tiny shards as the surf crashed against the beach.

Out of all the places Kyou had visited, for training, meditation, or otherwise, this was his favorite. It was the most serene place he had ever been, and at sunset, the most spectacular.

An hour or so later, Kyou sensed three other people approaching the beach. Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru were here. Haruka and Michiru were dressed casually, Hotaru in a sweat suit. They all walked along the sand to meet him. Ganymede walked over to join them.

Hotaru looked down at the cat. "Aw, who is this cute kitty?"

"Her name's Ganymede. She woke me up a few nights ago," Kyou said. "She's my advisor, and I have yet to get a muzzle for her to stem the endless barrage of smart-alecky comments. Now I know how Usagi feels."

"So she's your advisor and guardian?" Haruka asked.

"Bingo," Kyou replied.

"Oh," Michiru said. "So you can talk, too?"

"Of course," Ganymede replied. "How else could I advise your headstrong Saiyan friend?"

"Watch it, kitty," Kyou warned.

Hotaru stifled a giggle. She believed she and Ganymede would get along.

"Anyway," Kyou said. "If we're finished talking, we should probably get to work."

Kyou began their training with a jog up and down the beach. They went at a moderate pace; despite the curing of Hotaru's physical ailments, her body was still vastly untrained.

After their jog, Kyou and the others took a small rest break. It was only a short time later that the break ended.

"Before we get into basics, we should probably go over a few stretches," Kyou said. Hotaru nodded her assent.

They spent the next half hour learning and reviewing stretches. Some were designed to stretch out leg muscles, others to loosen up the back. Kyou took great care to make sure Hotaru didn't injure herself.

After the stretching exercises were completed, Kyou and Hotaru moved on to the basics. Hotaru paid close attention to Kyou's instruction, and thus carried out her maneuvers almost flawlessly.

Haruka and Michiru sat nearby, watching the two work. Both of the girls observed Kyou's teaching, noting how he took care to explain everything to his student.

"You can really tell how much he cares for her," Michiru said. "Just by watching how he treats her, you can see it. I don't just mean here, either. If you ever catch the two of them in public… He takes such good care of her."

"I know. It's almost unreal. You watch the news and hear stories about how men treat their wives; it makes me almost proud to have you. Kyou, though, that boy is different. I'm not just talking about species, either. Straighten his hair, make him a bit taller, and dress him up nicer and there'd be almost no difference between him and Mamoru," Haruka replied.

Kyou and Hotaru had finished the basics. Now they were moving on to actual fighting technique. Kyou's attitude was no different than it was before.

Michiru studied them for a few moments. Finally, she said, "You know something, Haruka?"

"What?" came the reply.

"I think those two are going to get married," Michiru said.

"And… How do you know this?" Haruka asked suspiciously.

"Just a feeling," Michiru answered.

Haruka watched Kyou and Hotaru for another minute or so. "I think you're right," Haruka said finally.

Kyou and Hotaru took a break after another half hour or so. They walked over to where Haruka and Michiru were sitting. Ganymede was asleep nearby.

"Well?" Haruka said. "How's she doing?"

"Hotaru's doing really well," Kyou said. "She learns fast and efficiently."

"Of course," Michiru said. "She has an excellent teacher."

Kyou had no response to this. He had been complimented before, certainly. But outright flattered? That was new to him.

"Anyway," Kyou said, changing the subject. "What do you say we break for awhile, maybe get some lunch, and finish up at the Kirikado Shrine?"

"Sounds like a pretty good idea to me," Michiru said.

"Alright. So where's lunch?" Haruka asked.

"I know! Let's see if Makoto's cooking anything," Hotaru suggested.

"No good," Makoto said. "Makoto's out for the weekend. Fumigation. She's at Minako's."

"One cook down, none to go," Michiru said sadly.

"Don't be too sure about that," Kyou said. The three girls looked to him for an explanation. "I can cook. I sort of have to, you know."

"Yes, but what can you cook?" Haruka asked.

"I'll show you, because it's a surprise I want to keep under my hat," Kyou replied. "It's better than a microwave pizza, though."

"Looks like it's settled. Off to Kyou's we go," Michiru said.

After they woke Ganymede up and finally arrived at Kyou's apartment, lunch took close to an hour. There were so many wonderful smells coming from Kyou's kitchen that Hotaru could barely sit still. Finally, Kyou came out, carrying a tray with four covered bowls, a covered platter, and forks.

"Forks?" Haruka asked. "Great, American food. This should be fun."

"I certainly hope so," Kyou said, smiling.


	20. Chapter 19

[Chapter 19]

Kyou set the tray on a table between the four of them. "Now," he said, "you see what I'm capable of."

Kyou pulled the lid off of his own bowl to reveal its contents. Inside was rice, with shrimp mixed in it. The others pulled off the lids on their bowls as well.

It was Michiru who asked, "What, exactly, is this?"

"What you are about to eat, I hope, is shrimp scampi, mixed in white rice," Kyou said. He pulled the cover off of the platter, revealing rolls with four cups of marinara sauce before them. "Followed by pepperoni rolls." Kyou left the room again, and quickly returned carrying four glasses and a pitcher of tea.

Kyou sat down, and waited for someone to act. Michiru looked to Haruka, and Haruka to Hotaru.

Hotaru sighed and rolled her eyes. She picked up her fork, dug it into the bowl of food, and popped the rice and a shrimp into her mouth. Her eyes went wide with surprise.

"Hotaru?" Haruka asked. "What is it?"

Hotaru swallowed her food and said, "This food… it's magnificent! You two have _got_ to try this!"

Haruka and Michiru glanced at one another, shrugged, and took a bite each. Their eyes went as wide as Hotaru's, and their compliments were as gracious as the younger girl's. Satisfied with their approval, Kyou said, "_Bon appetit_," and began eating as well.

The entire tray's worth of food was gone within a half hour. "Well, looks like someone appreciates my cooking," Kyou said.

"It was incredible," Haruka answered. "Bit of a buttery aftertaste, though."

"Shrimp scampi is supposed to be _buttery_, Haruka," Michiru said, laughing.

"No one told me," Haruka objected.

"I loved the pepperoni rolls, too, Kyou," Hotaru said.

"I'd never tasted marinara sauce before," Michiru added. "I can't believe what I've been missing. We might have to do this more often."

"Well, we just might do that," Kyou said.

"Let's just hope we don't end up with a cookoff between you and Makoto," Michiru said. "I don't think our stomachs would survive."

"Usagi's might," Haruka mused.

Finally, the group decided to get back to work. Haruka drove them all to the Kirikado Shrine. Piccolo had already granted his consent for training purposes.

There were only four hours remaining until sundown, and all light in the Kirikado Shrine would be gone. Kyou and Hotaru promptly got back to work.

Kyou worked for another hour on fighting technique, and Hotaru once again was on top of things. She remembered everything from the session that morning, and added what she now learned to that.

Hotaru finished learning fighting technique, and Kyou called another break. Kyou was finished teaching Hotaru now, and the only thing left was sparring, to review what Hotaru had learned.

While Hotaru rested, Kyou went to find a phone. The nearest one was a payphone. Kyou picked up the receiver, put in the change, and dialed Minako's number, which he'd gotten from Michiru.

"Hello?" asked a voice on the other end.

"Minako?" Kyou asked in response.

"Yep. Who's this?"  
"It's Kyou. Is Makoto about?"  
"Oh, hey, Kyou. Yeah, she's right here. Hold on."

Kyou glanced around momentarily. Makoto reached the phone. "Hey, Kyou," she said. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Kyou answered. "I need a favor. Are you busy?"

"Not right now. What do you need?" Makoto asked.

"I was training Hotaru in martial arts," Kyou said. "She learns quickly. She's squeezed a few years' work into a matter of hours. She has basic movement and fighting technique down. Now she needs someone to train against."

"Sure, I'll help. Where are you guys at?" Makoto asked.

Kyou gave Makoto directions to the Kirikado Shrine. Then he hung up the phone and returned to the Shrine himself. Hotaru, Haruka, and Michiru were talking to each other when he returned.

"Makoto will be here in a few minutes," Kyou said, explaining where he'd gone.

"I'm surprised you got back so fast," Michiru said.

"Why's that?" Kyou asked.

"Minako, I figured, was going to talk your ear off," Michiru replied.

"Why should she?" Kyou wondered.

"You didn't know?" Michiru asked. Kyou shook his head. Michiru leaned over and whispered, "She likes you."

Kyou immediately straightened up. Looking to Haruka, he said, "This is the part where I run screaming, right?" Haruka nodded solemnly. Kyou sighed and said, "Bad luck for her, then."

Hotaru was confused, but Kyou, Haruka, and Michiru said, "Don't worry about it," simultaneously.

Makoto arrived a few minutes later. She looked a bit uneasy when she walked in. Kyou understood why. Facing Hotaru, even in training, would not have been his first choice either.

Hotaru, however, was more than up to the task. Kyou left the room, and returned moments later carrying two scoring dials.

"What are those for?" Haruka asked.

I think it might be better if we had a bit of a contest," Kyou replied. "I'll be the referee and scorekeeper. First one to ten points wins."

Haruka and Michiru took their seats next to the wall.

"How are points determined?" Makoto asked.

"If you can make your opponent land outside the ring on the floor, you score a point," Kyou replied, indicating the red ring on the floor. "Are we clear?" Kyou asked. Makoto and Hotaru nodded. "Then let's get started."

Makoto and Hotaru faced each other in the ring. The two bowed and then assumed fighting stances. Kyou stood between them, hand raised, and threw it down, signaling the start of the match.

Makoto moved quickly, and Hotaru had to make a defense even faster. Hotaru managed to hold her own for a few minutes, but Makoto began to overpower her. Before the raven-haired girl could react, Makoto had a grip on her and had judo-flipped her out of the ring.

Hotaru and Makoto returned to the center, bowed, and Kyou signaled to begin again. Hotaru moved first this time. She aimed low, attempting to trip Makoto, but the taller girl jumped. Hotaru got back to her feet, and resumed her assault of punches, which Makoto dodged. Makoto eventually passed Hotaru, and then landed a back kick which pushed the younger girl out of the ring. Makoto now led 2-0.

The match continued. Hotaru was a bit wiser the third rime around, and managed to improvise a combination that Kyou had never even used. It was difficult, but Makoto was pushed outside of the ring. Hotaru had finally scored.

Feeling more confident in herself, Hotaru fought Makoto spectacularly, raising seven more points in the space of ten minutes. Makoto, however, was determined not to give up. She continued to fight, matching Hotaru move for move. Makoto finally scored her third point.

Makoto fought brilliantly afterward, and soon she and Hotaru were tied at nine points.

Both of the girls entered the ring for the game point. Kyou signaled the start of the match.

Makoto and Hotaru were both cautious now, circling one another and testing each other's reaction time. Finally, Makoto got impatient and lashed out, swinging her arm to catch Hotaru.

Hotaru caught Makoto's arm and swung the older girl around, trying to throw her out. Makoto was successful, however, in catching her balance again. Hotaru used the minor diversion to try tripping Makoto again, but failed. Makoto tried to grab Hotaru, but the younger girl sprang from the crouch she had assumed into a backflip. Hotaru landed on the opposite side of the ring.

Makoto and Hotaru ran toward each other, jumped, and…

What happened next, none but Kyou could tell. He sensed the girls' powers spike briefly, when each placed their kicks. The impact caused the two to blast apart and crash into the floor.

Haruka, surprised, said, "I… I can't believe it."

Kyou smiled. Makoto and Hotaru got up, smiling as well. "You knew she'd gotten stronger, Haruka," Kyou said.

Haruka looked from Hotaru to Makoto, then to the floor. Both combatants had stood up from where they'd landed, outside the ring.

The match had ended in a draw…


	21. Chapter 20

[Chapter 20]

"I still can't believe that just happened," Haruka said, shaking her head.

"You knew how strong she was, and how good a fighter Kyou was. Of course it would've ended like that," Michiru said.

"I admit, I'm a bit surprised myself," Makoto said. "I haven't lost a fight in a long time. But I'm really proud of you, Hotaru."

Hotaru blushed. "Thanks. It was luck, that's all."

"Oh, no. That was not luck. You've become really strong, Hotaru. Kyou's taught you some valuable things," Makoto said.

"It all goes back to Piccolo. Without him teaching me first, I couldn't have taught Hotaru," Kyou said. "Of course, I only taught her the basics. There are many other things I've learned over the years that I'm not certain I could teach her so quickly."

"Such as what?" Haruka asked, interested.

"Well, I learned various types of ninjutsu, and a few other fighting styles. Some of them are very specified arts, really complicated stuff," Kyou replied.

"You say you've learned ninjutsu," Makoto said. "You mean with chakra and hand signs and all that?"

"A good bit of it," Kyou said. "For example, how many of us are in the room?"

Michiru looked around. "I count five," she said.

Kyou did something with his hands, but it was too fast for anyone to see. "Don't be so sure," said a voice from the other side of the room. Everyone turned to see Kyou standing on the other side of the room, and looked back to see him sitting before them.

"How did you do that?" Haruka asked.

"Secret ninjutsu trick. Art of the Doppleganger," Kyou said. "With the right hand signs, and the proper application of energy, I can create as many copies of myself as I need."

"Wow. That sounds really neat," Hotaru said.

"It's come in darned useful at times, too," Kyou replied.

"Anyway," Haruka said. "What do you propose we do now, since Hotaru's learned all that today?"

"Go home and rest. Hotaru did really good today, and got farther than I thought she could have. I think we can cancel next week's session," Kyou said. "I still have to plan for the sessions involving all of the Senshi."

"Alright then, Kyou," Michiru said. "We'll see you later."

Hotaru, Haruka, and Michiru climbed in Haruka's car and drove off. Kyou took care of putting everything away and closing up the shrine. Then he picked up Ganymede and flew off to his own home.

After showering, Kyou was finally able to go to sleep. He was going to be quite busy over the next little while, so he needed as much rest as he could get. Thankfully, Ganymede wouldn't disturb him; she slept out on the couch. Kyou fell asleep quickly, preparing himself for the times ahead…

* * *

Ganymede awoke with a small start. She sensed the subtlest things, but this was important enough for her to actually leave. She had to be very careful about doing so. After a considerable amount of effort, she finally got the door open. The cat trotted outside, down the stairs, and out onto the street.

Once on the street, Ganymede began to get a stronger feel for what had awakened her. Something was calling her away from the Rose Deck. She sensed a fresh presence among the people and things here. She tried tracking it, being as cautious as she could. The presence led her down several streets, and finally down a back alley.

"Hello, kitty. How did you find me here?" asked a male voice. Ganymede looked up and saw a man with blond hair and jade green eyes. She meowed innocently, and swished her tail back and forth a few times.

"Oh, come now. Don't play innocent with me," the man said. "I know you're no ordinary cat. I know you can talk."

"I see," Ganymede replied. "You, also, are more than you appear. Who are you, anyway, and why is your aura so strong?"

"I will tell you. But first, you must escort me to Endymion," the man said.

Ganymede studied the man a moment longer, and it all became clear. "I cannot escort you to Endymion just yet, but I can take you to his right-hand man," she said.

"That will work," the man said. "Try to lead him here tomorrow. I will meet you."

"Alright," Ganymede said. The man disappeared, an art of teleportation, and Ganymede turned and ran back to the apartment.

* * *

Kyou woke up the next morning, fully rested. Hotaru's sparring match with Makoto was still fresh in his mind, and Kyou intended to give Hotaru a reward for all the hard work she put in yesterday. He woke Ganymede up by scratching her behind the ears, then the two of them left for Hotaru's house.

Hotaru greeted them at the door. Ganymede turned to leave almost immediately.

"What are you so impatient for, Ganymede?" Kyou asked.

"There's someplace I wanted to visit," the cat said. "Unless you two had other plans, that is…"

Kyou stopped there. In truth, he and Hotaru didn't have any other plans. "Alright," Kyou said, sighing. "Lead on." Ganymede did. She led the two through the streets of Tokyo, until they were in a less populated part of town. She turned down a side alley, and Kyou and Hotaru tossed each other a skeptical look. Finally, they gave up and followed her.

The alley was dark and cold, littered with trash cans, the typical back alley. Ganymede was interested for some reason, however. Kyou sensed another presence. Without warning, a figure wearing a cloak and hood appeared out of thin air and landed on the ground.

"I've been waiting for you," the figure said to Ganymede. "Are these the ones?"

"They are. The boy is Kyou. The girl is Hotaru," Ganymede replied.

"We've met. Or rather, I've met them. A long time ago," the hooded figure said.

"So, who are you anyway? And what do you want with us?" Kyou asked.

In response, the figure lowered his hood. He was a youngish man with blond hair and blue eyes, no facial flaws whatsoever. Hotaru recognized him instantly.

"Jadeite!" she exclaimed.

"Wha… Jadeite?" Kyou echoed. "I thought he was dead?"

"No. I never died. I was frozen by a spell Beryl put on me. I was sealed for a while in a block of ice. Beryl died a short time later. As time went on, her enchantments faded. Including the one she put on me. That's how I'm here today," Jadeite replied.

"I don't care how you came to be here. Beryl didn't do a good enough job getting you out of the way, so I'll do it permanently!" Kyou shouted. He charged Jadeite, fist raised, and then…

And then he stopped. It took Hotaru a moment to see why. He had skidded to a halt, and was clutching his hand. A drop of blood fell to the ground. Hotaru moved closer, and saw what had cut her loved one's hand. It was a red rose, sticking up out of the ground. She looked around the alley, and found the thrower of the rose hanging on to a rain gutter.

It was Tuxedo Kamen.

He had just saved an enemy.

Now Hotaru began to wonder…


	22. Chapter 21

[Chapter 21]

"Are you crazy?" Hotaru screamed. "You just attacked Kyou!"

"I had to, Hotaru. Jadeite's not here to do harm," Kamen replied.

"What are you talking about? He's one of Beryl's generals! He must have brainwashed you," Hotaru accused.

"No, there's no brainwashing involved. He comes with good intent. See for yourself, Kyou. Look into his heart and tell us what you see," Kamen replied.

Kyou shot Kamen a dark look, but did as he was told. He searched Jadeite's mind, his soul. There was no darkness there, no malice. "It's true," he said finally. "There's no evil there. Jadeite really has been freed. But why serve us?"

"Before Beryl brainwashed me, I was one of Endymion's guardians. So were Kunzite, Zoicite, and Nephrite. I'm here to serve him again, so that his future is assured," Jadeite said.

"There's no deceit in him. The generals truly were guardians of Endymion before the fall of the Moon Kingdom," Kamen said.

"Then, I suppose the only thing left to do is to take him before the Senshi. Let them decide what to do," Hotaru said.

"Let's go then," Kyou said. He picked up Hotaru and the two flew off, leaving Kamen and Jadeite to find their own means of transportation. Jadeite merely took hold of Kamen's shoulder and teleported, beating Kyou by a few minutes.

Kyou and Hotaru landed, seeing Kamen and Jadeite standing outside the temple. Hotaru had called ahead, and the others were going to meet them there. In the meantime, Jadeite pulled his hood back up, so he wouldn't be recognized before he wished to be.

The Senshi arrived in pairs, with Haruka and Michiru arriving first. Ami and Usagi followed closely behind, then Makoto and Minako. Kyou, Kamen, and Hotaru were the last ones in. The others were already seated.

Rei turned from the fire and looked at them. "What's this all about?" Rei asked Hotaru.

Kyou, Kamen, and Hotaru looked amongst each other. "We have someone you need to meet," Hotaru said finally. Tuxedo Kamen snapped his fingers loudly, and the hooded figure walked into the room.

"Who's this?" Makoto asked. "What does he have to do with us?"

"I have a lot to do with you, Sailor Jupiter," the figure said. This put Makoto on her guard instantly.

"Who are you? How do you know my identity?" Makoto demanded.

The figure lowered his hood. There was a collective gasp from all but Kyou, Hotaru and Kamen. "Jadeite!" Usagi exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Rei jumped to her feet instantly. "How dare you set foot on the grounds of a sacred temple?" she added.

"You have no right to be here!" Minako continued. She went after him, but Kamen moved to block her. Rei got up next, but was blocked by Kyou.

"What are you two doing?" Usagi cried. "He's one of our enemies!"

"He's here under my protection, Usagi," Kamen replied. "He's awakened from the spell Beryl used to freeze him. He's also recovered from the brainwashing she subjected him to. He's one of us now."

"That explains the cut on your hand," Haruka said quietly. Everyone looked to Kyou. "You tried to attack Jadeite, didn't you? But Kamen stopped you with his rose."

Kyou didn't respond. It was Jadeite instead who spoke. "All I ask is for you to hear me out. What I have to say will have an impact on your collective future," the blond haired man said.

"What could you possibly know that could affect us?" Ami asked.

"More than you think. As Endymion's guardian, it is part of my obligation to tell you," Jadeite answered. "As one of Beryl's generals, I had knowledge of all the major demons. Most of them posed a threat to Beryl, so she had them eliminated by… subversive measures. One of the ones who always eluded us, though, was Bakoda. He had few followers then, but that was also a millennium ago.

"Bakoda managed to keep his strength up, though, while all of us lay in dormancy until a few years ago. What's worse is, his strength has increased. He's been preparing, waiting until you Senshi had eliminated every other obstacle from his path.

"What I have to say, none of you will want to hear. However, I owe it to my master, Endymion," Jadeite said. "All of you are in very real danger. There's nothing any of you can do about it, not in your present states."

"We're about to undergo rigorous training," Makoto said. "Rei and Kyou will each run a day long training session, to improve both body and mind."

"Even that will not be enough," Jadeite said. "While mental fortification will do you good, Kyou is too weak to train you physically, not to where you'd be at an advantage at any rate."

"What?" Kyou shouted. "Care to find out just how weak I am?" Kyou's energy began pulsing dangerously.

"I don't wish to fight you. I know that you are a Saiyan warrior, and your pride does not allow for weakness. However, you must become stronger still before you're able to defeat Bakoda," Jadeite replied calmly.

"Wait, you've been frozen in stasis for years. How do you know who Kyou even is, let alone how strong he is?" Usagi asked.

"It is from Beryl that I learned who he was. In the remains of her palace, I managed to locate a list of targets that she wished to have as her servants. Kyou's name was on this list. I looked into his history, both on Earth and elsewhere. I managed to find some disturbing information on him, which is how I know he won't survive against Bakoda," Jadeite answered.

"What did you find out?" Rei asked.

"Kyou was on the moon during the Silver Millennium," Jadeite said. "That much you know. You also know he fought during the fall of the Moon kingdom. Here's what you don't know, however. His fate in that battle."

"What… what was his fate?" Hotaru managed to choke out.

"During that battle, in one of its final stages, the Saiyan warrior who would be reborn as Kyou was on the front lines. He faced down the Negaverse army. He challenged Kunzite to a one-on-one duel. Kunzite… Kunzite cut him down," Jadeite said darkly.

"But… Kyou's still here," Hotaru said. "He was reborn on Earth with the rest of us."

"I don't understand it, either. There was no way Kyou could have withstood the damage Kunzite dealt him. The only thing I can see is that the Ginzuishou must have brought him back to life when it sent everyone else to Earth," Jadeite said. "But this proves my point. No matter how strong he is now, Kyou is still no match for Bakoda, because Bakoda was stronger than Kunzite then, and his strength has had 1,000 years to build."

"Then Kyou's strength will build as well," said a deep voice from behind Jadeite. Jadeite whirled around to see who had put so much confidence into their voice. He saw a green-skinned alien wearing navy pants and a white turban and cloak.

"Who are you?" Jadeite asked. "And why do you have such confidence in Kyou?"

Kyou grinned. "I should've known. Whenever we need a last-minute solution, he shows up with secrets that are hundreds of years old."

"My name is Piccolo. I've been the boy's mentor since his reincarnation on this planet," Piccolo replied. "The reason I have confidence in him is because I know things that you do not. It's these things that will multiply Kyou's strength and help him to defeat Bakoda once and for all."


	23. Chapter 22

[Chapter 22]

"So tell me… just how… this is supposed to help me again?" Kyou asked. It was an hour and a half later, and Kyou was climbing up an unnecessarily tall tower, while his master floated up behind him. Piccolo had taken him to Korin's Tower, from where Kyou would go to Dende's Lookout to get his training.

"You have to climb Korin's tower to be able to train. Kami wouldn't have allowed it, and I won't permit Dende to allow it. Training at the Lookout is very serious business, Kyou. You can't slack off up here," Piccolo replied.

"Well… What kind of training… requires me to climb a tower… for thirty minutes straight?" Kyou asked as he climbed.

"If it's that difficult for you, stop asking so many questions," Piccolo answered.

Kyou rolled his eyes, but shut up and kept climbing. After another hour or so of climbing, he finally reached the top. The place was deserted. "Nobody's home," Kyou noted.

"I wonder where everyone went… Korin's supposed to stay up here. I know Yajirobe died of old age, but I would have thought Korin would've found another person to live up here with him. He may have moved on up to the Lookout," Piccolo replied.

"Then let's head up there," Kyou said.

"You're probably right. We can fly from up here," Piccolo said.

"Ah hah, so there is an easy way up," Kyou responded sarcastically.

"The only reason you're taking the easy way up there is because Korin is much stricter than Dende is. And there's really no tower to climb to the Lookout from here," Piccolo pointed out.

Kyou snorted, and jumped over the rail, floating in midair. "Lead the way, master," he said.

The two took off, and arrived at the Lookout within a few minutes. At first glance it appeared that this place, too, was deserted. However, Kyou noticed that there were still healthy trees and flowers in planters across the surface of the Lookout.

"Someone still lives here. These plants are in perfect condition. They look like they've just been trimmed, too," Kyou said.

"Yes, I noticed. It seems Mr. Popo's still alive, if nothing else. He's really the only one we need for our purpose," Piccolo said.

"Which you still haven't explained," Kyou added.

"I intend to give you a year's worth of training in one day," Piccolo replied.

"And you're going to do this how?" Kyou asked.

"You'll see, as soon as I find Popo," Piccolo answered.

As they wondered throughout the palace, they finally found someone. It was a humanoid with pitch-black skin, wearing white pants, a red vest, and a turban. He was apparently the lookout's sole inhabitant.

"P… Piccolo! It's good to see you again! You're looking well," the strange man said.

"It's good to see you again too, Mr. Popo. I trust you've been taking care of things since we last met?" Piccolo responded.

"Everything's been well-kept, Piccolo. The Lookout's been easy to take care of. If you'll follow me, please," Popo said cordially.

Piccolo and Kyou followed Popo through the many halls of the palace. As palaces went, it was actually unimpressive, Kyou noticed. Finally, though, the three came to a door at the end of a very long passageway.

"Through here is the place where you will receive your training, Kyou. I, of course, will be accompanying you. My goal for the next day, or year depending on your point of view, is to make you strong enough to defeat Bakoda without any problems," Piccolo said.

"You still haven't explained how I'm going to get a year's training in one day," Kyou countered.

Piccolo opened the door. He motioned for Kyou to go in first. The inside looked normal enough. There was a table, two beds, a restroom, and what appeared to be an entire year's supply of food.

It was the outside that was different. The room with the food and beds was on a platform, but as soon as Kyou stepped off the platform, all he saw was white. There were no shadows, no creases where wall met ceiling or floor.

"Umm, Piccolo-sensei, what is this place?" Kyou asked. "How far out does it go?"

"Its bounds are unknown. We are in the Room of Spirit and Time. It is a special altered chamber where time is lengthened for those inside, but normal for those outside. It was destroyed years ago, but it appears to be working properly again," Piccolo said.

"So training here will make me stronger that much faster. It'll also make me a year older," Kyou said.

"If you want to think of it that way," Piccolo replied. "But most importantly is the strength and wisdom you'll gain. If you're ready, we'll close the door and training will begin. But I warn you. It will be arduous, more so than you've ever had to endure."

Kyou was quiet for a few moments. Then he said, "If it will help me save Hotaru and my friends, and protect the future of the universe, I'm ready."

"Good," Piccolo said. He nodded to the door, where Mr. Popo was standing. The door closed, and Kyou felt the onset of the heat and increased gravity. Training was about to begin…

* * *

"How is she?" Haruka asked.

"The idea of Kyou being in any sort of danger, whether here or in the Silver Millennium is really eating at her. But overall, I guess she's alright," Michiru responded. She closed the door to Hotaru's bedroom. Even if the raven-haired girl wasn't asleep, Michiru guessed she still wanted to be alone.

In fact, Hotaru was wide awake. She was listening to everything Haruka and Michiru were saying. She was praying for Kyou's safety during his training. She knew she'd see him tomorrow, but there was no telling how perilous things would get or how different he'd become.

That was Hotaru's greatest fear. She was afraid of what would happen to the Kyou she knew and loved. She never knew when he went on a training session whether he'd come back changed, or if he went into battle without her, if he'd come back at all. She feared Kyou dying, and had no idea what she'd do if he did.

Hotaru tried not to think about Kyou dying, because it reminded her that he already had, or at least had come close to it. She didn't remember this, of course, but it had still happened. She was afraid of it happening again. She was determined, though, that it wouldn't happen, even if it meant giving up her own life. With this in mind, she said another quick prayer and drifted off to sleep…

* * *

Corona entered his master's chamber, quaking in fear. "Y… Yes, my master. You wished to see me?" he said.

"Oh, calm down, Corona. There's nothing wrong. I called you here to celebrate our impending victory," Bakoda said.

"V… Victory, sire?" Corona asked, uncertain. At that instant, a figure stepped out from the shadows. He had black, unkempt hair and icy blue eyes. He wore all black clothing. "You… You've captured the Saiyan?"

"Captured? Oh, don't I wish," Bakoda replied. "But I've done the next best thing. I've made a clone of him. I sent scouts out to the place where his battle with the necromancers took place, and they brought back a sample of his skin and hair that had been… separated from him. This is the end result. Corona, I'd like you to meet our own Saiyan, Aedis Miroth."

The cloned Saiyan looked up at Corona. "Pleasure," he said simply.

"Corona, this is the key to our victory. Aedis will destroy the Senshi and Kyou once and for all. Then the path will be clear. We can rule the universe!" Bakoda said. "Now. Aedis, hunt down the Senshi. Bring them to me. Wreak havoc on Tokyo, the dwelling place of what would have been my adversaries!"

Aedis nodded and said, "It shall be done, master." With a brilliant flash of light, the Saiyan was gone. Bakoda laughed, a long, low, cruel laugh that revealed the madness in his mind. Corona began to wonder at this point if it was truly worth serving under such a madman, and whether he too stood in Bakoda's way.

One thing was certain, though. The Senshi would not survive the weekend…


	24. Author's Notes

Looking back, even I would say this isn't my best work.

It was written, in the initial stages, seven long years ago, back when I was a Junior in high school. Essentially, it provided a way for me to stay awake in class. But as I read over my early efforts, I realize English was probably one of the classes I shouldn't have fallen asleep in. I'm sure if I'd paid attention, this would've been written a lot better. Oh well.

And I'm aware I could've merely re-written this, fixed the grammatical controversies, the childish imagery, replaced it with something more worthy of an adult… but when you're working on a 5-volume story, with each lending important characters and plot points to the next, it's hard to go back and start from scratch. So this is what I have so far. Try not to judge it too harshly. Remember, it has been seven years.


End file.
